


Time Is All We Need

by Emisonpll4



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Drama, Complete, Cute, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Intersex, Love, Medical, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 128,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23936473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emisonpll4/pseuds/Emisonpll4
Summary: A blonde, who is chasing her career as a surgeon, has struggled to maintain a relationship. Everything, besides her immediate family and best friends, has been pushed aside so she could strive in her field. Will it change when she meets a cop who could stop her heart?Warning: Contains G!P
Relationships: Alison DiLaurentis & Emily Fields, Alison DiLaurentis/Emily Fields, Toby Cavanaugh/Spencer Hastings
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I had originally published this story on Wattpad exclusively, but I felt like I would share on other platforms as well! Especially with quarantine and people needing something to do, I figured why not? Anyway, enjoy the chapter. I should have chapter two uploaded in a few days for you.

The blonde's fingers rhythmically drummed on the counter top while she looked through her folder that contained every detail about her patient. It was nearing the end of her shift, so she was making sure everything was in order before she headed home for the night. A small thud broke her from the folder, to see her best friend, Spencer, about to do the same. Spencer wanted to become a heart surgeon, whereas Alison herself wanted to be a general surgeon. Spencer's plans were to stay, at Rosewood Hospital, in hopes to become the head of the best cardiac department in the area.

"Hey Alison." Spencer shifted to look at the blonde with a smile before going back to her charts.

"Hey Spence, long night?" The blonde closed her folder and handed it to the nurse at the station, who put it back in its spot, ready to be picked up bright and early tomorrow morning for rounds. Alison looked at Spencer, who didn't entirely look like she was exhausted, but that was probably due to the amount of coffee she ingested during the day, she still had a little pep in her step. Even though both women had been working for nearly eight hours, and it was now close to seven o'clock, they both usually had enough energy to last throughout their shifts.

"Yeah," the brunette sighed and closed her folder, handing it to the nurse as well. Alison has always envied Spencer a little bit. Spencer normally, and somehow, kept up with her charts throughout the day, making it more than likely that Spencer would get to leave at least fifteen minutes before her. But not tonight, tonight Alison had less patients, so she was able to get charting done throughout the day. "Long surgery today, and I have to go to Toby's game now." The brunette sighed and looked at the blonde again, this time with a mischievous smile spread on her face.

"What?" The blonde thought she may have had something on her face, and that thought embarrassed her. What if it had been there all day while she was treating patients?

"Come with me. Our boys are playing Toby, and Shane has been bothering you to go to a game since, like forever." Alison groaned. She didn't want to go out, and to some game none the less. She wanted to go home, eat dinner, and go to bed.

"Does Shane not realize that I'm gay?"

"Yes, but you're bi." The brunette pointed out, knowing her best friend. Again, Alison groaned at her friend. Spencer chuckled before adding, "but you've only dated one guy...and it didn't last very long, but he is aware that you like to play for both teams."

"Oh shut up." Alison playfully smacked Spencer's shoulder as the pair walked to their lockers to grab their belongings so they could finally leave the hospital.

"Seriously Ali, you should come. It's been like two years since you went out with anyone. Maybe you'll meet someone." Spencer shrugged. She closed her locker to look at her blonde friend who gave her that 'are you fricken kidding me' glare.

"And you think I'm going to meet someone at a lousy football game? Especially when they're all old fat guys." Alison laughed and closed her locker as the duo made their way out to their vehicles parked in the back of the lot.

"Hey," this time it was Spencer's turn to smack Alison's shoulder "don't be mean just because you don't want to go." They both stopped at the rear end of their vehicles, they were always parked right next to each other, when Spencer tried one last time. "If you hate it I'll buy you dinner."

Alison had always felt bad when she turned down Spencer's offers to hang out time and time again. This time, if she really didn't like it, at least she would get food out of the deal too. She had no idea what was going on throughout the game. Spencer tried explaining what was happening, but it was really no use. She watched football with her dad, who liked the Packers, they had always gotten hate for liking an out of state team, but she never knew what was going on. If her dad cheered, then so did she. The only things she understood was that Toby threw the ball, and they had to get the ball into the big white rectangle. The players ran around, without helmets or any other protection and fully hit one another, which made Alison very nervous. Men can be very rough, and without any protection...things could get bad. A quick thought popped into her head, so she decided to ask Spencer.

"If all the policemen and all the EMT's are here, who is going to go out and rescue if there's an emergency?" Spencer took her eyes off her man to look at Alison. She smiled at the blonde, then looked back to the field.

"I asked the same question." She stated, and the blonde shook her head at her friend's weirdness. "I guess the surrounding areas help out. Toby said that not everyone in his department is on the team, so they have enough. But if any department needed help, Ravenswood for example, would help out. I guess they all really want to play football." Spencer shook her head, laughing lightly. Suddenly the brunette raised her arms up and starting cheering. Naturally, Alison followed suit.

The clock of the game was winding down, now only seconds left in the match. Rosewood Police Department pretty much man handled the Rosewood EMT crew. Spencer had expected that to happen. She knew their team had the best player on it. Spencer was telling the blonde all about the superstar when she stopped and got an idea. "Alison.."

Alison knew that tone from Spencer. This was when Spencer always came up with the mystery diagnosis, or whenever she felt like she struck gold with her ideas. "Spencer.." the blonde mimicked Spencer's tone, giggling at herself.

"That's who you should date!"

"Wait, who?" Admittedly, the blonde wasn't paying any attention to what her best friend was rambling on about earlier. Once she heard the words touchdown and interception and had no idea what they meant, she stopped listening to her friend.

Spencer sighed heavily, annoyed because her friend always does this. The brunette pointed to the tall, dark haired woman on the field. "Her," she said, watching for Alison's reaction before continuing again "she even fits both of your teams."

Alison eyed her, her eyebrows creasing together as she just stared at Spencer. She was trying to figure out what she was saying but nothing made sense.

"Intersex Alison, she's intersex." The blonde nodded her head, taking her eyes off of Spencer to look at the girl they were talking about. She was tall, very tall compared to herself. "Toby said Emily is really nice. He said she doesn't talk much, but she's one of the nicest human beings he's ever met."

"Eh," the blonde turns her attention back to her friend with a growing smirk on her face "what does Toby know about women? He's dating you." The blonde snickered, even as her friend sucker punched her in the shoulder, who soon joined in on the laughter. "Seriously Spence, I don't need you to set me up with someone,especially just because they fill both of "my needs." Plus, I'm not getting into a relationship until I know where I'm heading." Spencer dropped her head slightly, nodding in understanding of the girl next to her. Alison was very, very likely to leave Rosewood, and her friend wasn't very happy that the blonde would most likely be leaving her. Alison wanted to get her residency done, near her parents and friends, but she planned to move away to somewhere like Wisconsin or Ohio once it was over. She was seeking the best hospitals for her specialty, and that was final. If she went to Wisconsin, at least her father would be happy, he'd be able to catch a game if and when he visited.

The game ended, Toby's team winning 28-7. Spencer went down onto the field to talk to her boyfriend while Alison simply waited by the exit for Spencer to meet her. She was scrolling on her phone, looking up restaurants that her and her best friend could go to. The game wasn't all that boring, but of course she was going to get that free meal out of Spencer. A large and heavy body bumped into the back of Alison and her phone slipped out of her grasp.

Luckily for the blonde, the figure walking on her left side caught her phone mid drop. Alison felt her heart pumping again, the thought of her phone shattering on the cement floor would've severely pissed her off. The blonde no longer worried about her phone, and snapped her gaze at the body who almost made her phone shatter to pieces. Of course it was a big guy, the old bastard didn't even apologize. She realized that whoever had caught her device, was probably trying to hand it back to her so she turned her attention to her left.

Right by her side, was the very woman Spencer was rambling about. And god, did she think the tanned beauty was a sight. Her heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of the girl, Alison was jealous of how beautiful she was. She was taller than she had first appeared, although that didn't surprise Alison, as she was watching the brunette from the stands. "Here." The brunette's soft voice came through a light smile as the woman kept her eyes from meeting her own blue ones. Alison retrieved the device from the girl's outstretched hand with a wide smile.

"Thank you." The blonde had to refrain from using Emily's name, they hadn't properly introduced themselves to one another, and Alison thought she would've come off as stalkerish. The blonde tried to think of what to say to the girl standing in front of her. She desperately tried to remember anything that Spencer had rambled on to her during the game. "You're a receiver." She said a little proudly making the brunette lightly smile at her again, she's happy of the fact she could retrieve that information even though she had partially blocked Spencer out. "So you catch footballs and cellphones." The blonde was even more proud of her connection to the sport.

"And bad guys, sometimes." The blonde laughed hard at Emily's joke. Emily's mouth opened, but before she could get the words out she was interrupted by Toby and Spencer joining in on their conversation.

"You wanna come out with the three of us, Em? We're going to get dinner, and it's on Spencer." Toby looked at his girlfriend, bouncing his eyebrows quickly in a teasing matter.

"Uh, I gotta go to work. Have a nice night." She took a quick glance at Spencer and then again at Alison. "See you at work Toby." In response Toby nodded at the girl as the trio watched her depart from the local college's arena. The back of her black jersey, which was really just a t-shirt, read 'Fields' with a number four on the back.

"That girl never has a day off." Toby shook his head, frowning, as they all followed Emily out of the building. They settled on going to the local Applebees. Alison was happy with the choice as was Toby who ordered a beer as he and Spencer emphatically talked about the game.

"So," Spencer looked at the blonde with narrow eyes, begging her to spill her guts. Toby watch the television that was playing some hockey game as he nursed his beer "what did she say to you?"

"Nothing." Alison looked down, stabbed a piece of lettuce and put it in her mouth.

"Oh come on." For the third time that evening the blonde groaned at her friends antics.

"Okay, you want a play by play?" She eyed her friend, who rapidly shook her head with a beaming smile. God, Alison thought, she was definitely friends with a weirdo. "She said 'here' and 'sometimes she catches bad guys' or something like that, then you heard the rest." The blonde waved her hand in a dramatic fashion, emphasizing the uselessness of hers and Emily's short conversation.

"Really? Well that's boring." Spencer and Toby went back to talking, and Alison slumped back against her chair and watched the hockey game on, even though she had no knowledge of what was going on.

The rest of their "trio date night" went by quickly. Both girls had wanted to get home to sleep. Both had to report back to the hospital early the next morning. They bid their goodbyes and Alison sped straight home. Upon walking in the door, she kicked off her shoes, dropped her keys in the dish on the side table, along with the days mail, and headed to bed. She was exhausted. She curled under the blankets, and hoped for a peaceful sleep. She definitely needed it for the next morning, otherwise her patients wouldn't be very happy with how grumpy she would be. She only prayed that tomorrow would be an easy day, since she was getting to bed so late tonight.

The next morning the blonde arose from her bed, feeling a little extra sleepy. She was used to going to bed much earlier than she had the previous night. Of course, Spencer decided to tease the blonde, who was nursing a large sized coffee, as the two finally bumped into each other for the first time that morning.

"What, you couldn't sleep last night because you couldn't stop thinking about Emily?" The brunette smiled wide at her friend, while the blonde let out another groan. Of course Spencer would try to link her lack of sleep with the brunette she met for the first time the previous night. "You can admit that you might actually like her Alison."

"Spencer, I don't even know the girl." She grabbed a patient's chart from the stack and flipped it open, reviewing it for the surgery she was to perform later on that day.

Spencer stepped away, hands in air, from Alison; leaving her to her business. Spencer knew when her friend got snippy, it was best to leave her alone. The brunette only wanted to tease the girl a bit. She also secretly kind of hoped a relationship between the mystery girl, so to speak, and her friend would actually blossom. She wanted her friend to have someone who would take care of her, and vice versa.

Spencer witnessed Alison in a relationship, with some chick who had black hair. Alison was there for the girl, but when Alison needed someone..Alison's girlfriend was just about as good as Manti Te'o's. Spencer smiled to herself, suppressing a laugh at her own joke. Toby would've been proud of her joke.

Additionally, the brunette wanted to beg her boyfriend to keep extending invites to his coworker. Spencer genuinely liked the girl, granted she only said about three words to her, but she was very polite. There was always the possibility that the girl was unavailable, or like Alison, "not looking for a relationship."

On countless occasions Spencer could recall the many times she had told Alison she needed another person, besides her family, in her life.

"Alison. You've got to get out there again. You've probably walked by your soulmate 20 times and you didn't even know it."

"Spencer." Her friend sat up straight, placing her coffee on the table and dropping her eating utensil to her plate. "My soulmate is in Wisconsin or Ohio. Wherever I go, there will be someone there for me. I'm not meeting my Prince Charming or Princess Charming, any time in the next 3 years."

Alison always knew Spencer was right. She missed holding someone. She missed going home to a warm house and being with someone other than her fish, King. Everyone always gave her weird looks, that she had named her pet fish King. It was a very peculiar name, Alison would agree, but it was unique. She had another fish but King manage to reduce the population of his fish bowl to one.

The blonde did get lonely, Spencer was always right about that. Whenever she did, she'd call up her parents to talk. She wanted someone in her life like Toby is for Spencer. Nice, caring, loving, and the list goes on and on. But the blonde didn't want to get attached and then suddenly pack up in a year and leave. No, she couldn't do that. Not to herself. Not to the other person.

She figured she would wait until she was settled before starting anything again. If she had to wait a year longer for her love life to actually start, then that would be perfectly okay with the blonde.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a PSA, there are some minor mistakes throughout the entirety of the book. I have a really tough time combing through writing, especially my own, to find mistakes. Apologies. Here's the next chapter for you :)

The brunette walked into work, same as usual, determined and ready to well, work. Granted, she always loved going to work the next morning after a win. Her colleagues circled around Toby's desk as they raved about the previous night's game. Emily was never one to join in on the ordeal but the whole department had a lighter feel on those days. She was always business when it came to work. She never liked being bothered at work anyway.

She worked best alone, and when she did have to work with someone, it was always Toby. She kept her head down and only spoke when it was needed. Toby and Emily had only shared about five cases together, but the chief knew that Emily would only work with himself, or Toby. The chief knew though, from experience and from the woman's parents, that she did in fact work best alone. Both her mother and father worked at the department before they both moved away.

"Nice game last night Fields." Jack, the team's running back and linebacker saluted the girl as she walked past the circle of men. She nodded, getting out a quiet, "you too" before she made her way to her desk. She had a new brown file sitting in the center of her desk. She sat down, made herself comfortable, and flipped open the folder.

After nearly the entire work day of pure reading, Emily pushed away from her desk and made her way to the fridge to grab herself a water. She wasn't a coffee drinker, despite the typical cop stereotype. She always got funny looks or people who didn't believe her when she told people she didn't drink coffee. As a child, she always had enough energy, too much her mother always said, and that translated into early adulthood.

She missed her parents on occasion, but they were always overbearing with her. She knew it was for good reason and only in a loving matter, but the brunette felt suffocated by them sometimes. Emily couldn't even leave the house without her mother wanting a report on how she was and where she was going every thirty minutes. Her parents had been very reluctant to leave the brunette, but under certain conditions, they obliged.

Emily notified the chief that she was going to talk to a victim at the hospital. She hated cases like this one, kidnapping cases, but she used her hatred to drive herself into finding the people who committed the crimes.

The brunette walked into the hospital, navigating her way to the main floor of the hospital. She had been in the building enough to basically draw a second blue print. Granted she had great memory, but she knew the layout very well. She patiently waited for the nurse, whom she hadn't recognized, to look up from her computer. When she did, the girl gave the older nurse a smile. She knew the job could take its toll on people, especially when this woman clearly had years of experience.

"Hi," Emily showed her badge, although the uniform probably gave her away, it was a necessity to see a patient "what room is Sarah Keaton in?"

The nurse, Tina, according to her badge, started clicking on the computer without saying anything to Emily. The brunette fiddled with her fingers while she waited for the room number. She wanted to catch whoever did this to Ms. Keaton. "Room 428 Officer..." the dark haired nurse squinted at the gold badge, pinned on Emily's uniform "Fields."

"Thank you." Emily started to walk away but not before the nurse yelled to her.

"Officer Fields, great game last night, even though you played our crew." Emily turned to the nurse and smiled lightly at the older nurse. The girl nodded at her, and went on with her business.

Emily walked the halls in the giant hospital. She hated being in hospitals. She felt..trapped in hospitals, especially this one. She wanted to get the information she needed and get out of there so she could go home. She knew this would take longer than her allotted work day, but it was essential to finding suspects that committed the crime.

Ms. Keaton was getting emotional over hers and Emily's questioning. She was able to provide a few key pieces of evidence that were helpful to find her kidnapper. She was only able to describe the physical features of the man, since he always wore a mask whenever she was in contact with him. He had only broken her leg, badly enough to need surgery to repair it, and it still bothered Emily, but she was glad that nothing else had happened. The kidnapper was after her family's money, and the man dropped her off at the hospital after he received payment.

A knock broke Emily and Sarah from their conversation, and in entered one of Sarah's surgeons. Emily looked at her watch and saw that it was already nearing seven. Her shift ended at six, but the brunette had gotten carried away with her questioning. Emily had gathered her things when she saw the blonde from last night. The blonde looked completely stunned to see the brunette in uniform, and in her work space.

The blonde had to admit, Emily looked good in uniform. The more she thought about what Spencer had told her the night before, and this morning, the more she wanted to know the girl that was standing in front of her. Emily smiled at the blonde and turned back to the woman lying in the bed.

"I'll come update you and your parents when I know more." The blonde thought her voice was heavenly, and she cursed herself for thinking so. She cursed herself for wanting to get to know Emily. Emily was already at the door, and Alison couldn't let the brunette slip through her grasp. She thought that this was fate. Destiny. Emily was here, and she probably wouldn't get a gift like this again.

"Officer Fields?" Emily stopped herself from opening the door, to turn to the doctor in the room. "Would you wait outside for me?" Alison cringed at herself. What was she even going to say? What would Emily say? Her nerves eased a bit as the brunette nodded and exited the room.

Alison was just doing a routine follow up with her patient. She and the attending had to surgically repair Ms. Keaton's leg. She gave the girl another dose of pain medication and told Ms. Keaton that she would be back to check on her in the morning. Alison exited the room, seeing Emily leaning against the opposite wall looking at her phone with a perplexed expression. She couldn't help the butterflies that seemed to eagerly flutter at the sight of the other girl.

"Officer Fields?" Alison extended her hand to Emily ready to confront her fear she's had since she decided on moving after this calendar year was finished. "Doctor DiLaurentis." She quickly shook her head at herself. This was a step to get them on a first name basis. "Alison." She corrected herself as the brunette took her hand and shook it, quickly slipping her phone in her pocket. Alison noticed how large and more importantly to her, how soft Emily's hands were.

"Emily." The brunette smiled again and retreated her hand from the blonde. Alison wanted to protest, but knew that it would be too weird. Emily looked at her questioningly, she had gotten to carried away with day dreaming about Emily's hand.

"Um, could I," the blonde had to muster up everything she had in her to get the words to come out "could I get your number?"

"Oh, yeah." The brunette grabbed from Alison's clip board in hand, to write her number down. "For Sarah right? You'll let me know if anything changes?" At her words, Alison felt stupid. She felt so embarrassed, but was this worth it? Was Emily worth it? Her brain told her no, while her heart begged her to be honest.

"Um, well yes and no. What are you doing in about," Alison looked at her watch, seeing she was officially off duty in ten minutes "ten minutes? Maybe we could go get a drink or catch dinner?"

She watched for the brunette to be completely repulsed by her offer, but she kept her strong demeanor. "I have to work." Emily mumbled, looking anywhere but the blonde standing before her.

"What, does the department not have any other decent cops? Do you have time for coffee?" The blonde tried a last ditch effort. Spencer would be proud of the girl for fighting so hard for Emily. She had every chance to throw in the towel and say, 'hey, this isn't meant to be' but Alison really wanted to try. She should've told Spencer she had some feeling for Emily yesterday, but she promised herself she would when she saw her immediately following this conversation.

"I have another job; I work from home too. I don't drink coffee." Alison gave her the look Emily was so used to getting when people heard her coffee confession. "I know, but I do like donuts." Emily smiled, showing Alison her beautiful and charming smile. Alison laughed lightly at the girl. God, Alison felt the butterflies go crazy again, and she tried her best to contain herself.

"Come on you work from home, you can take one night off." Emily knew she could take just one night off, but she did really need to finish her work at home. She internally sighed, shutting her eyes and debating with herself. "You saved me about eight hundred dollars Emily, let me take you out to dinner."

"Alright. Alright, fine." Alison smiled triumphantly, making Emily smile with the girl. "I'll wait for you in the lobby?" The blonde didn't trust her voice at the moment, so she went with a classic nod. Alison nodded too, quickly turning away from the girl to hide her blush. Now, she had to speak with Spencer. And god Spencer is going to squeal, maybe more than her mother will when she finally tells her. Who's to say it will even go anywhere?

Alison groaned at herself. She wanted to text Emily and cancel the whole 'date.' What the hell was she doing? She met Spencer at the nurses station on the second floor, their normal meeting spot.

"Spencer." Her voice came out shaky, but she was ready to reveal her inner thoughts and big plans for the night to her best friend.

"Hey," Spencer cut her off before she could reveal anything "You want to go out for drinks tonight? Toby is going out with some of his friends tonight." Alison thanked every power above for the easy ice breaker, even though it was just an ice breaker for herself.

"Actually Spence," the blonde handed her folder off to the nurse "I have a date tonight." Spencer completely froze. She couldn't tell if Alison was serious. She was so shocked her jaw was basically on the ground as she gave Alison that 'are you serious' look.

"Wow. So who's the lucky guy or girl you're going out with tonight?" Shit, Alison thought. Here would be the fireworks.

"Um actually, they fit both teams." Now Spencer went from shocked to happy, and repeated the cycle about five more times before she spoke.

"You have a date with Emily?!" Spencer started prancing around, and the nurse at the station started laughing at Spencer. Now Alison was really embarrassed. Her cheeks were fully red, and she was glad Emily wasn't there to see her.

"Yes, I just asked her out like five minutes ago."

"Wait." Spencer stopped, and walked over to her friend. She put her hand on the girl's forehead, looking at her worriedly. "Are you feeling okay?" Alison dramatically groaned, hating but also loving how her best friend was.

"Yeah, I got to go. She's waiting in the lobby for me." With that, Alison all but ran to her locker so she could change. She worried that Emily would be uncomfortable in her uniform while Alison was in street clothes.

She walked to the front of the building, seeing Emily seated next to the main door. She was on the phone again, typing away when she felt her phone buzz too. She looked at her phone to see that Spencer had sent her a text. Of course, Alison knew she wouldn't have gotten away that easily.

'You better give me the details when you get home.'

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, tools a deep breath, and made her way over to Emily. Her nerves were at an all time high and hopefully, Emily wouldn't be able to tell the girl was nervous. Alison admired, that the few times she had seen Emily she was so calm and collected. She presented herself well at all times.

"So where would you like to go?"

Alison insisted numerous times on their drive over to the restaurant that price would not be an issue. Ultimately, Emily deferred and let Alison decide where they would eat. She of course, picked her favorite restaurant, which happened to be the most expensive in town. Emily repeatedly told the girl to choose somewhere cheaper, but Alison refused.

"I'm paying, and I say it's not a problem. Unless you really don't like Italian." The blonde all but put down the hammer, basically forcing Emily to just go with the flow.

Their 'date' was a disaster, in Alison's eyes. She felt like she hadn't stopped talking while the pair were together. She felt like Emily barely said anything to her, barely gave her any information to go off of. Alison rambled on about herself, her career, her parents, and her damn fish. Most of it was due to nerves, but once she calmed down, she was fine. Except she wasn't, she kept on blabbing.

After she dropped Emily back off at the hospital to retrieve her cruiser, she headed home to take a quick shower before she called Spencer.

"How'd it go?" She knew Spencer had been waiting to hear from her all night, and admittedly, she needed to spill everything to her as much as her friend wanted to hear the gossip.

"God Spence, it was not good." The girl huffed, mentally kicking herself for how she was literally the entire night with Emily. She was bossy, she was very talkative, and even let a few horrible jokes slip; virtually she did everything tonight that she hated about herself.

"Why?"

"I just couldn't shut up! I'm so stupid. I even told horrible jokes, like the not funny ones that you hate."

"Really Ali? You told her the toilet paper joke? I told you to stop using it." Alison could just see the cringe all over Spencer's face.

"Whatever." Alison plopped onto her bed, rubbing her forehead while she stared at the ceiling. She literally had one chance and she messed it up.

"So what else happened? Did she tell you anything at all?"

"She lives past the bridge, like in the bad part of town, I mean she didn't say that, but I know that's not the good part of town. She works a second job from home and she's two years younger than I am."

"That's three things no one else knew."

Spencer's positivity always came in handy for the blonde. Her friend wasn't even aware that the girl needed to be calmed down, but somehow she did. Sometimes she wondered if Spencer had a sixth sense for that.

Their conversation didn't last much longer. Both Alison and Spencer were once again exhausted. Alison tossed her phone in the middle of her bed, dismissing it so she could get ready for bed.

After she had brushed her hair and teeth, she returned to her bed to crash for the night. She grabbed her phone, plugged it into the charger, and pulled the covers over her body. Tomorrow, she decided, she would contact Emily and apologize for her behavior. That would be the only way to sort of fix the mess she created.

Quick, and rapid buzzes broke her from her sleepy trance. It was probably her mom. She hadn't called in a while and she was probably just checking in with her daughter. She rolled over to retrieve her phone, and had to blink at the screen several times to see if what she was reading was real.

'Thank you for dinner. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate your generosity'

Emily's message made her heart clench. Toby, and her own first assessment of the girl was spot on. She was so nice that it was heart warming. She wanted to call Spencer back to tell her the good news, to ask how the hell she should reply. Hazily, she typed out a quick message, still grinning at the message Emily had just sent her.

'Not a problem. I appreciate you catching my phone :) I had a nice night.'

She pictured Emily's dreamily brown eyes reading her message. While the pair were at dinner, she had gotten lost in those eyes numerous times. Alison had saw something in Emily's eyes that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Alison dismissed it as the girl being nervous; probably about Alison finding out who she really was, even though Alison already knew.

At the end of the day, Alison went to bed with a smile on her face. Something that hasn't been accomplished in a long time. It was all thanks to night spent with and a simple text from Emily.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been nearly a week since that Monday evening. Alison hadn't heard from Emily since that night. Apparently she had been by the hospital the next evening, to notify Ms. Keaton and her family that she had caught her kidnapper and got their families money back. Spencer saw Emily entering the hospital, but Alison was just finishing up in the operating room.

Thus, the blonde's mood had turned almost into a depressive state. It was odd. Spencer had never seen this type of behavior from Alison. It may have been worse than when she and Katrina broke up, or whatever the fuck her name was. Spencer tried, throughout the week to get Alison to talk to her, but Alison didn't know how to talk to her. Alison didn't even know the full extent of her feelings, so how was she supposed to confide in Spencer?

"Alison," Spencer watched her friend play with her salad "is everything okay?"

"Yeah." The blonde barely lifted her head, and gave Spencer a half assed smile. One she knew Spencer would see right through, but she felt she had to try anyway.

Their lunch time had gone very similar each day of the week. With each day, Alison did improve. She wanted to text the brunette every day, and ask her 'what the fuck?' or just simply 'hey.' Spencer had helped her out and basically threw every surgical case at Alison she could get her hands on. Alison loved the O.R. more than anything in her life.

Alison had just finished a morning shift that Saturday and headed to the supermarket near the hospital. She normally went to the one on the other side of town, since it was cleaner and had more options, but she just wanted to go home and sleep. She figured she would call her mother now, so when she got home she could put her groceries away and head straight to bed. She dialed her mother up and walked into the store.

"Hey mom." Her mother always loved getting calls from Alison. Jason never really called, but he had a wife and kid so it was a little understandable.

"Hi sweetie. I was hoping to hear from you soon." She could hear their little miniature beagle, Zoe, barking in the background. Their dog didn't like that many people, and was known to sink its teeth in someone if they pissed off the dog enough.

"Yeah, it's been a busy week." Alison sighed, and stopped the cart in the meat section. She let her eyes roam over the various cuts of steak on display, trying to decide what she actually wanted.

"Is everything okay, at the hospital?"

"Yeah mom. Everything is going just fine. Just a little tired is all."

"Oh that's great honey." Her parents were always happy whenever she or Jason were happy. She was thankful for her parents. They were very supportive of their children, even when Alison told them she was bisexual; her parents told her to be happy and be herself. "Have you applied to any hospitals yet?"

"Yeah, just waiting to hear back now. I won't know until January." Alison picked up a package of ribeyes and placed them in her cart. She had spent nearly a half hour collecting items for her pantry before she got to the check out line.

"So Thanksgiving is about a month away, you got the morning shift?"

"Yeah, I get off at 2." Alison made a deal with one of her fellow residents: she would get morning shift of thanksgiving, and again for Christmas. Stacy, the girl she traded with wanted to spend Christmas morning with her family while Alison didn't mind spending it a little later than normal.

"Awesome. We'll be having everyone over for dinner. So you just come when you're off of work. Are you bringing anyone?" Alison wanted to slap her forehead. Her mother asked any time she was visiting if she had met anyone, so why would a major holiday be any different?

"Um, probably not." She quickly dismissed her mother's attempt to get a peek into her very non existent love life. She heard her mother let out a very disappointing sigh, but her mother also knew her goals.

"Look mom, I've got to go. I'll call you soon. Love you." She hung up after her mother said goodbye. Maybe it was better that Alison not get involved with Emily. She told herself for how long, she wasn't getting involved. She was leaving for her job next year.

As she was returning her cart to the drop off in the parking lot, she saw her again. She stepped out of her tiny, baby blue Chevy pickup truck and walked towards the entrance. Once her sparkling brown eyes locked onto Alison's, the girl held a slight grin and kept her eyes on the blonde.

"Hi." Emily approached her first, eyeing the blonde as secretly as she could.

"Hey Emily. No work today?" The blonde was actually stunned to see her not working. She figured she would've been at the department since it was still before the middle of the day.

"Scheduled day off as a cop. Have to work from home." Emily stuck her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her heel, a tick she had picked up from her own mother. "But you know, I kind of have to eat...so I had to take a break."

Alison thought she looked cute, even though she was virtually wearing 'scrub' clothes in her definition. Emily wore a simple pair of dark grey sweatpants with a plain white t-shirt. Alison thought she was crazy for wearing a t-shirt on a day like today, the weather was chilly, and soon they would have snow-fall.

"Yes, food is essential." Alison didn't know what else to say, and the two fell into complete silence.

"Look, I know you probably have work." Alison's heart started to speed up, just thinking about what Emily was about to ask her. "But, if you have time...you should come to the game tomorrow." Although it wasn't what she wanted to hear, she liked the invitation none the less. She knew Spencer would be there, so she would have someone to talk to at least.

"Spencer probably would've forced me to go, so there's a very good chance I'll be there." Emily nodded at her, still showing the girl a kind smile.

"I'll look for you." She shot Alison her famous and charming smile before putting her head down and walking into the store. Alison thought it was a little odd, but in all seriousness she left the parking lot happier than she had arrived.

If Emily was being honest, tonight was the most nervous she'd ever been for a game; and she had played in many big games during her life. For one, they were playing Ravenswood police, the biggest threat to Rosewood's team, and James had always been a chippy player. He played receiver and corner, so Emily would be matched up against him all night. The brunette wasn't worried about her play, she knew she had the skill matchup won, but James won in the physical department.

Not to mention, that she had asked Alison to come to the game, that was also in the back of her mind. She knew once she got into the building, Alison would completely slip from her mind and she would be perfectly fine.

The huddle broke, and Emily trotted to the right side of the field. Toby had called for a play action post play to Emily. She recognized their defense; they were playing a cover two zone. At the snap, she beat James off the line, got behind the linebackers, and just in front of the safety as she ran towards the left corner of the end zone. Toby threw a good ball, and Emily caught it very easily for the touchdown.

It was the closing minutes of the game, and Rosewood needed a stop, so they could march down the field for the go ahead score. Emily saw the glint of anger in James' eyes when she lined up across from him while she was on defense. He had tried a go route, along with other 'flashy' routes to gain separation from Emily, but nothing had worked. Emily could hear him grumble about Emily and her 'showing off' but she wasn't one to get into altercations.

Once they got the ball back, Toby had called Emily's number again. She ran a comeback route, and broke her route to locate the ball. Toby's pass was errant, higher than it should've been, but with Emily's height there was still a chance she would come down with it. Emily jumped, snagging the ball with one hand, but right as she secured the ball James hit her while she was still in the air.

Emily, not so graciously, hit the turf and hit fairly hard. The whole stadium sucked in a breath of air, especially a certain blonde and brunette in the crowd. Emily somehow managed to catch the ball, but she was slow to get up. Her teammates, especially Toby started defending her. Toby and James started pushing each other, but Emily didn't want anyone to get hurt.

Emily walked up behind James and Toby, who were now about to punch one another and a referee was in between the pair trying to break them up. "Toby, just leave it. It's fine." Toby had visibly given up, but James kept going. He was trying to fight through the referee's hold on him when his elbow struck Emily in the face during the commotion.

Emily's lip busted open, and the blow to the woman caused a whole new commotion. Spencer and Alison basically sprinted down the the edge of the bleachers and started yelling for her. Both doctors were worried that Emily was hurt, from both hits from James. Emily ignored both the women yelling at her, even though she was spitting out blood that was pouring from her lip, there was no way she was going to sit out the final minute of the game.

The team got an extra fifteen years for James' actions. They had forty seconds to go sixty yards for the game winning touchdown. They ran two plays, a toss to the running back that gained ten yards and a spike to set them up in striking distance with only ten seconds to go. When the team huddled up, everyone looked to Emily and that's what Emily wanted.

"Double move on a go. If they're in two man, put it back shoulder in the end zone." Emily instructed Toby. Her teammates broke the huddle, and Emily jogged to the left side of the field this time. She recognized their defense immediately, they were sending an all out blitz; leaving her one on one with James.

"Toby!" Emily motioned her hand to tap the top of her head twice to alert him of their defense. Toby pulled in the tight end to the line, adding some extra blocking since a double move takes a little extra time to develop.

"Your ass will be on the turf again Fields."

At the snap Emily started running on the outside of James. She had a step on him, but not enough separation to warrant a throw. Now, Emily told herself. She cut inside, and once James' hips opened up to the inside, she cut back outside. James bit on the fake so badly that he fell down. From there it was an easy pitch and catch for the win.

"Are you insane?" Emily recognized Spencer's scolding almost as soon as the final buzzer had went off. Emily turned to the girl scolding her, and to the blonde by her side.

"Emily." Alison whispered at the sight of the brunette. Her lip was still bleeding, not nearly as heavily but there was still a slight stream, and her white lettering on her shirt was splattered in blood. The blonde could already see the bruise forming around the girl's lower lip and how swollen it already was.

"I'm fine you guys." Emily dismissed and shot them both a weak smile. Luckily for Emily, both girls seemed to have bought it. Spencer huffed, and shook her head at the brunette and walked along to find Toby.

"You know, maybe if you weren't so good this" Alison motioned her hands to Emily's lip and her bloody shirt, smiling at her "wouldn't happen. Ice that when you get home."

"Mmm." The brunette hummed, also displaying a smile of her own to the blonde.

"So, who do you guys play next week?" The blonde questioned. In response the brunette raised her eyebrows at the girl's question. "I need to know if it's worth spending two dollars to come watch."

"Well, we don't play next week. But I'm sure your EMT crew would love to see you here."

"Oh, definitely not worth it then." The blonde stated, then chuckled and fidgeted nervously with her hands.

"So tonight was worth two dollars?" Emily chuckled, trying her best to be playful with the blonde. Some people misunderstood her, mostly because she wasn't very social and was sometimes a little awkward, and people got offended or completely took things the wrong way.

"Yeah; one hundred percent the best football game I've ever seen."

"So," Emily rubbed the back of her neck and looking down into her favorite shade of blue "would you want to maybe like hangout or something next Sunday night?"

The blonde was stunned, but extremely happy that Emily wanted to be around her. She was ecstatic to say the least. One thing she really liked about Emily was how nonchalant she was. She didn't know if Emily did it on purpose or if it was just who she was, since she's done it so often, but she liked laid back people in general.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I get off at seven, so I'm free anytime after that." The blonde smiled wide. She just couldn't hold her excitement in. God, is this really what it felt like to like someone?

"You let me know the time and place, and I'll be there." Emily smiled at her again, and Alison loved that Emily had put her in a place where she could feel comfortable when they met up. Honestly, she probably would've had a panic attack if they were to meet up and she felt like she had to rush.

"How about eight at my place? We can watch movies and eat ice cream?" Alison suggested. She figured that would give her enough time to change and quickly tidy up the house before Emily arrived.

"That sounds perfect." Emily whispered, still with her neck slightly tilted down so she could look into Alison's eyes. "I have to go." She spoke again, and Alison wanted to groan at the thought of Emily leaving now. She just wanted to talk to the brunette forever. She was finally starting to get comfortable with the blonde, and it was eminent to Alison. She was finally saying more than three words to her.

"Work?"

"Mhm." Emily smiled again, and turned to leave the building. She got halfway to the door when she turned around to speak to Alison again. "I'll see you on Sunday."

"Bye to you too." Alison sarcastically joked to herself, seeing Emily's backside almost to the exit of the building.

It was now Tuesday, Spencer and Alison's scheduled day to hang out once they both got off of work. Spencer had forced the blonde into coming over to her house every Tuesday night since Alison declared she was leaving next year, and since Toby worked the midnight shift on Tuesday's, it was perfect. They always ate dinner, gossiped, and threw on a sappy romance or comedy movie.

"I'm going to go throw a couple logs in the wood stove. If there's any left: I told Toby we needed more like a week ago." Spencer vented to Alison. This was also a common theme on their Tuesday nights; Spencer would vent about Toby and then, that would be it until next Tuesday.

"You better whip him in line." Alison joked. Once Spencer left, she figured she would get the wine and snacks ready.

Spencer bolted back into the house, scaring Alison and causing her to spill some wine on the counter. "What the hell Spencer?" Alison dabbed The spilled wine with a paper towel before going back to filling the glass.

"Emily's here." Alison stopped pouring and set the wine down on the counter. She looked at Spencer, like she was a little crazy, because Emily sure as hell wasn't in the room. 

"She's been in my garage for three hours working on her truck." Alison turned to look at the clock, seeing that it was only eight thirty. She turned back to Spencer with raised eyebrows, only to see Spencer nodding at her. "Yeah."

The blonde went back to pouring the drinks. She knew Spencer would flip everything to her, and her feelings for the girl in the garage. It would no longer be movie time, it would be gossip time.

"You ought to get in there and see her. Total hottie."

"Spencer."

"You're going to hang out on Sunday, just go in there and offer her some food and wine." Before Alison could even protest, the girl they were just talking about had knocked on the kitchen door. She opened it, revealing her dirty clothes and face to both girls. Alison noticed her still fat, and bruised lip. She internally sighed, of course Emily didn't ice it.

"Oh, hi." Emily said, completely surprised by Alison being there. "I'm just going out for a test drive, I'll be back to clean up. I promise."

Spencer and Alison smiled at the genuineness of Emily. Spencer wasn't all too concerned about the garage, for all she cared Emily could leave the mess for Toby to clean up in punishment for leaving her in the dark. Spencer wasn't mad that Emily was using their garage, but it would've saved her the heart attack from seeing Emily in what was supposed to be their empty garage.

"Do you want something to eat? You've been here for a while."

"I'm okay, thank you though Spencer."

"Wine?" Alison asked holding up the bottle. Spencer looked at her, furrowing her eyebrows and widening her eyes at Alison. Alison wanted to facepalm at her stupid nervous inspired suggestion. What the hell Alison, she scolded herself.

Emily laughed, taking it as a joke. Alison let out a breath, one she didn't even know she was holding. Spencer chuckled too, but stared at the blonde. She knew she was in for the questioning as soon Emily left. "I don't drink." Emily commented, nodding to both girls before leaving.

Once the door closed and Spencer no longer heard the low roar of Emily's truck, she walked into the living room and plopped onto the couch. "Okay, what the hell was that Alison?" Spencer questioned Alison, as she too slumped into the sofa next to her friend.

The pair talked for a long time before Alison finally headed home. Her and Spencer had talked about everything they could about the girl she was seeing on Sunday. She was pretty clear about her feeling for Emily, but now she was sure.

'If you don't date her, you've got to be her best friend.'

Spencer sent her a text with two attached pictures. Emily had thanked, and apologized for scaring Spencer, for the use of their garage. She restocked their woodpile. Again the blondes heart swelled and a smile crept to her face. Emily was so polite and thoughtful, and it warmed the blonde's heart. On Sunday, her goal was to get to know Emily more. The only thing that really scared Alison was the fact that she would be leaving soon. Maybe it was best to have Emily as a best friend, better than nothing-Alison thought.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Alison arrived home from work, she changed into a pair of jeans and simple long sleeve shirt. She nitpicked her cleaning last night; she was cleaning her pieces in her buffet, something Emily probably wouldn't even be paying attention to. 

Alison cleaned again, getting lost into making her home presentable to the brunette. She worried that she hadn't bought the right ice cream to satisfy the brunette or had something to drink for her. So Emily didn't like coffee or alcohol, odd for a cop, but nothing that was anything near repulsive thus far. 

A knock on her door made Alison snap out of her cleaning haze. She hadn't even allowed herself to freak out, but now that Emily was here, she felt like her whole body was shaking. Alison threw the dirty dish rag in the laundry room and ran to the door. She rubbed her palms on her thighs, took a deep breath, and opened the door. 

"Sorry I'm late, I got a little lost." Emily smiled. She was sporting a sweatshirt with a Nike winter hat on; a pair of jeans and Alison wouldn't be surprised if she was wearing a t-shirt underneath her sweatshirt. 

"You're ten minutes early." Alison said after she closed the door and followed the girl into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink or eat? I haven't had anything yet and I was going to put something going." Alison watched as Emily pulled the sweatshirt over her head and set it on the chair. 

"Yeah, I can eat." 

Alison had cooked a couple chicken breasts and some veggies for them. She wasn't all that surprised to see Emily finish twice the amount of food she had. They made small talk about food, and Alison's amazing cooking. 

The pair settled in the living room, moving to the couch and ready to watch a film together. Alison chose Life as We Know It. Alison sat on the couch, wine in hand, and waiting for the opening title to come on the screen. 

"So how was work today?" Emily broke the silence, playing with the bottom hem of her shirt while she turned to face the girl. 

"It was really good. I got to scrub in on a bowel resection today. We had some complications but we pulled it off, so I learned a lot today." 

The brunette hummed, nodding her head and turning her attention on the commercial that was playing. The blonde smiled at Emily's thoughtfulness to ask how her day was. 

"How come you wanted to become a cop?" Alison asked, intently looking at the brunette who stared at the television screen. 

"I want to help people and it was pretty much my destined career path since I was born." Alison could understand that, she felt that was one of the reasons she was going to be one of the greatest surgeons because she had that drive to help people. "Behind football..." 

Emily trailed off, she started to rub her forehead like something was seriously bothering her. "How'd you get into football?" Alison wanted to know how she first got attached to the sport she was so good at. 

"My dad and I," Emily leaned back into the couch with a smile on her face. Her head thrown back so she was looking at the ceiling, as Alison smiled at the girl's actions. "we would just go outside and play catch and I just fell in love." 

"My junior year of high school we won a state championship." 

"Did Sammy Titon catch the game winner?" Emily's head snapped so fast toward Ali, Alison thought it could have snapped off in the process. 

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Alison looks at the brunette with confusion. Did this girl have super powers too?

"I was on the team." Alison raised her eyebrows in shock, meaning that her and Emily went to the same school. Emily fell back into the couch, settling her gaze on the television with a small smile. "One of the best day's of my life." Alison smiled, loving that the girl was slowly opening up to her. 

"I can't believe I didn't even recognize you. I'm sorry." The blonde reaches over and patted the girl's thigh in an attempt to comfort her. She honestly doesn't know how she didn't at least recognize her name. Although, she was a junior and Emily was a freshman, Alison still thought she would've paid some attention and would've at least seen the girl in their hallways. 

Emily turned her head, smiling at the blonde. "It's alright. I didn't recognize you either. I didn't really talk to anyone though, so, really it's not your fault." 

"So what happened your sophomore year then? We were horrible." Alison laughed, but Emily completely tensed up. This is exactly what she didn't want to talk about. This, right here, was what only a handful of people knew about her, well the real answer, not the fake one she always handed out to people. 

"Home schooled. Graduated at sixteen, then did online college and graduated at eighteen. Got a job immediately at the department and the rest is history." Emily let it slip so smoothly. She had been telling the same story to people any time they had asked about her. 

"How come you homeschooled? You couldn't play football then, why-"

"Life." Emily cut the blonde's rambling off and sighed. Emily's phone rang, saving her from further questioning from the blonde. "I have to take this." Emily walked out to the front porch to take her phone call. Alison sat on the couch, still bewildered at the fact that they had gone to the same school and then Emily wasn't there the next year. From what she could tell football was Emily's life.

Emily returned, and the girl's started watching the movie. Emily kept her eyes on the movie, while Alison stole glances at the beauty next to her. She wanted nothing more than to curl into the brunette's side and watch the movie. She was a little cold, if she was being honest, but she didn't want a blanket to cover herself, she wanted to be close to Emily. 

Every now and then, she would inch closer to the brunette and surprisingly undetected by Emily. "Cold?" The brunette croaked, never taking her eyes off the movie and successfully scaring Alison, even though that wasn't her intent. Emily got up, and retrieved her sweatshirt and handed it to the blonde who quickly slipped it over her head. Alison thought it smelled so good, it smelled like Emily. Emily lifted her left arm to the top of the couch so Alison could slip right into her side. 

Alison loved it. Emily was so warm. Alison inhaled deeply as Emily placed her arm around the girl, enclosing her in full warmth. "Sorry." Alison apologized, feeling like she was putting Emily in a hard place. Alison always felt like she was too clingy, and here she was, doing it again she thought.

"I don't mind at all." Alison smiled and readjusted herself on Emily's shoulder to be more comfortable. Emily actually didn't mind. It felt normal to her. Anybody that hung around the brunette long enough had always done the same thing, they claimed she was comfy and warm. 

Emily zoned out the rest of the movie. She thought about her immediate future, and her distant future. Would Alison be in it? She wanted the girl to be, but she couldn't force her to. She also didn't want the girl to get hurt if anything were to happen. She felt so strongly about Alison compared to anyone in her life before the blonde, that it scared her to death. She wasn't even sure if Alison liked her in that way, so everything could have been for nothing. Emily never needed people in her life, she was always fine with being on her own. But if there was a chance she could have someone in her life as special as Alison, she wasn't going to not take that chance. 

"Alison," Emily squeaked once the movie was over. She was nervous, she was about to tell the girl a few things that were very important, and could change everything. Alison's heart thumped harder against her rib cage. She had a feeling that Emily telling her this would mean that Emily liked her. "I have to tell you something...well a couple things."

Alison could tell by the shakiness in Emily's voice that she was going to tell her information that she most likely knew. "Emily," she grabbed Emily's shaking hand between two of her own and turned to the brunette "I already know."

"What? You know I'm-"

"Intersex, yeah. I'm sorry. Spencer told me before I even knew you." Emily could see the sincerity in Alison's eyes. She didn't mind that she knew though, almost everyone in Rosewood knew. 

"No, it's okay." Emily smiled, feeling a little more relaxed knowing that Alison didn't think she was some freak. She flexed her fingers against Alison's hands in search for a perfect grip on the girl's hand. She clasped her fingers with Alison's and looked straight into those blue eyes. "I really like you Alison." Emily felt the weight of the world come off her shoulders, but once she realized that she had put herself out there, more was added back on. 

"Good, because I really like you too." Alison felt like she was on cloud nine, as did Emily. They both just confessed to one another that they like each other. Alison felt like she was in sixth grade again, feeling like her crush had just passed her a note or something. Alison was crushing on Emily, hard, and she just got the best news ever. She smiled at the brunette, who was looking back at her. Emily's eyes were shining lighter, but drooping. She was tired, but neither girl was ready to call it a night. 

Emily rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and stood up, with Alison following. Emily grabbed her hat from the kitchen and walked to the door to put her shoes on. Alison started to take the girl's sweatshirt off, but Emily stopped her. "Keep it, looks better on you anyway." Emily opened the door, but stood there for a moment, just taking in the blonde before her. She was gorgeous, Emily thought. She wanted to kiss her so badly, and she thought she could see Alison's eyes flicker down to her own lips. 

Emily bottles up her nerves and went for it. She leaned in, and so did the blonde. Their noses brushed one another ever so slightly before Emily closed the minuscule distance between the pair. Alison's lips were soft and tantalizing. The kiss was soft too; Emily was afraid she would screw it up with Alison if she pushed the girl to far and too quickly. She lost herself though, her tongue swept along Alison's lower lip. The blonde moaned and Emily took the initiative again and seized her opportunity to deepen the kiss. Emily reveled in the feeling of the girl's mouth and her hands that were now placed on her own midsection. Emily brought her hand to the girl's neck, rubbing a small circle into it, while the other stayed on Alison's hip. She wanted to explore every inch of Alison, but it was too soon, way too soon. Emily pulled away, watching the blonde who stayed in their little bubble they just created a moment longer than Emily had; her eyes were still closed, and Emily swore she heard the girl whimper at the loss of contact. 

"Goodnight Alison." Emily smiled as the blonde opened her eyes again, using Emily's voice to get out of her haze. 

"Goodnight Emily." 

"I'll talk to you tomorrow." The door closed as the brunette left. Alison wanted to scream she was so happy. She was a little apprehensive about being with the brunette though. She was leaving, and Emily was rooted here, in Rosewood. And what if Emily didn't understand that her job was so demanding? What if Emily got tired of waiting around for her to come home, or what if the brunette got mad that she would come home tired and would just want to sleep, or what if the brunette would want nothing to do with her since she would be leaving shortly?

The following day at work, Alison was a giddy mess. Her mind wandered every chance it got the brunette and her lips. She'd been spilling details to Spencer every chance she got, but during their lunch time, Alison knew it would be a full feature gossip fest. Something similar to a movie. She honestly couldn't wait until lunch so she could lay every detail about last night on the table and get Spencer's honest and full reaction. 

"So what's the scoop?" Spencer asked, setting her tray down and beginning to dig into her food. She could tell, and from the mini splurges she would get during the day, Alison had a lot to unload on her. 

"I don't even know what to say. She's just....perfect."

Alison gushed to Spencer about last night. The more she talked about it the more she realized she liked Emily. They barely did anything last night, but Emily had met major keys in Alison's relationship check box. She made her laugh, she asked how her day was, she was and has been very well mannered, and she made a few key gestures. Alison had to pause when she received a text from the very girl they were talking about. 

'When are you free? I can't wait all the way til Sunday to see you again.'

Alison beamed, and Spencer could tell just how much she actually liked this girl. "Spence, what am I going to do?" Alison ran a hand through her hair, slumping back into the chair. "Would it be too selfish to ask her to come with me?"

"Of course it would. You guys aren't even officially together yet. See where this goes and then have the conversation. You just need to set the record straight before you get in a relationship, okay?" 

Alison shot back a quick text, letting Emily know she was free Friday night. Thursday she would be going to her parents house to have dinner, so she supposed she could tell her parents about Emily. She was happy that she would finally be able to let her parents know she met someone. She had shut so many people down over the years, and some really beautiful men and women, but none of them could have ever measured up to Emily. 

Spencer had told her at lunch that Emily got the whole football deal going. Additionally, the winning team at the end of the season decided what charity they would give the year's earning to. It made Alison extremely proud and her heart overflowed with the knowledge that Emily was doing such good for Rosewood's community.

'Can I take you out on Friday?' 

Spencer even joined in on Alison's giddiness. She had pressured her, as much as Alison's mother, that she needed to find someone. "I'm really happy for you." Spencer spilled to her friend, smiling at the thought of a possible double date. She wanted to get to know Emily too, for she was Toby's friend and Alison's potential love. 

Alison drove to her parents with a smile. Emily popped into her mind again, as it had every day this week. She wasn't nervous to tell her parents about Emily. She knew they would adore her. What wasn't there to like about the girl?

During dinner, Alison decided to fill her parents in on the brunette that was making Alison so happy withing the last two weeks. "I met someone." She cringed at herself, the way she just let it flow was not good at all. Her mother and father looked at her, smiling wide with their mouths agape. 

"Honey, that's great." 

"I knew someone was making my little girl so happy." Her father commented. Her parents were able to read her like an open book. They could tell if she was happy, sad, angry, literally any emotion she had ever felt, her parents could see it. 

"Yeah. Um, do you guys know Emily Fields?"

"Pam and Wayne's daughter? They worked at the station?" Her father questioned, but the blonde didn't have an answer for her dad, she only shrugged. They had never talked about Emily's parents before. 

"Emily works there." Was all she could think to say. 

"Ah, I heard she started the 'Donation League.' Sounds like a fantastic kid."

"When are you going to bring her over?" Her mother asked. They weren't even together, how could she just have Emily meet her parents? 

"I don't know mom. She works all the time. I imagine it's hard enough for her to even play football."

Emily was at home, working on her piece. She had found a great inspiration the past few weeks from Alison, and it was showing. She was getting done quicker, and able to make more each week. She figured she could reward herself by taking a night off, to take the girl out. Emily was a painter. She started when she was five, and it became a more frequent event when she was sixteen. 

She had been getting requests from people all over the world for paintings, and from many locals. A few of her pieces were actually in the hospital where Alison worked. She was surprised that the blonde had never noticed and questioned her. She loved it though. She had turned her single bedroom in her apartment into a studio so she had more room to work. 

Emily slept on the couch. She didn't live a luxurious life, but she was happy. It was small, and she really didn't have much. She had no television, any free time she had, she was painting. So what she didn't have the nicest, or that many clothes. So what she didn't have what most people considered 'basic living necessities.' Emily was comfortable with the way she lived, and she was actually happy. Most people she knew had everything they could ever want in life, yet were very unhappy. So who really was wealthy? 

Emily asked herself this every time someone would give her dirty looks, or criticize her for how she live. She felt like she was worth more than some people pegged her as. She was great at her two jobs, and she was happy. That's more than most people can say for themselves.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily picked Alison up, twenty minutes early, for their evening out together. Alison didn't really know what to expect. She had been told to wear something comfortable, and specifically something that was warm. She was given no other directions, but the blonde rolled with it. Alison wasn't as nervous this time around. Maybe it was the fact that the two had been texting back and forth throughout the week, but whatever it was she was thankful for it. She hated when she made herself out to be a fool in front of anyone, especially Emily. 

Emily was silent on their drive to the unknown destination. Alison had not so subtly stared at the girl, completely undetected by Emily. She was wearing a similar outfit to the one she wore last time Alison had seen her; instead of jeans this time she wore a pair of dark grey sweatpants. She loved the sight of the brunette in a pair of baggy sweats. She felt overdressed compared to Emily, but she herself felt that the pair of skinny jeans she was wearing, were inappropriate for a date. Now, she realized that Emily didn't care what either of them looked like, she just wanted to spend time with the blonde, and really, Alison should have known this sooner. 

Emily stopped the truck, and grabbed a bag from the back before she met Alison at the front of her truck. Emily took her hand and led her to their destination. Alison took in her surroundings, feeling like the place was familiar but she couldn't decipher where she had seen it before. Emily stopped at the middle of the hill in front of the pond, sat everything down, and joined the items on the cool grass. Alison stood, still admiring the view around them. They were almost completely surrounded by trees, that were in a perfect circle around the pond in the middle of the grass. The moonlight reflected so perfectly against the water, something that Alison had always adored about water.

Emily tugged on the blonde's hand, wanting her to join her for their small little picnic. "I know it's not much but...there's ham, turkey, bologna, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Emily said pulling out the various sandwiches from the bag, "I didn't know what was your favorite, so I made everything I had."

Alison smiled, and took the turkey sandwich along with a water bottle and the carrots and celery Emily had packed for them. It was simple. "How was work?" Emily asked, taking a bite out of her carrot. 

"Not a good one today, my patient died on the table."

"I'm sorry." Emily felt bad for bringing it up. She had asked the blonde every day how her day at work went and everyday thus far she had raved about work. Emily liked hearing Alison's work day stories. They were much better and much more interesting than any story she had ever heard at the station. "Do you recognize this place?" Emily looked away from the blonde, and at the sight before them, in an attempt to lighten the girl's mood. 

"Kind of." The blonde answered, her face scrunched as she tried to think of how she knew this place. "Should I?" She asked turning to Emily, who smiled and nodded her head. "Hmm." Emily hummed, keeping her eyes on the pond in front of her. Alison wiped her mouth with a napkin and set it in the garbage pile. 

"It's a painting in your hospital." Emily's voice came out so monotone, Alison had to check to make sure that it was actually her who had said it. The moonlight shined in Emily's eyes as she sat there staring at the pond. The light bulb went off in Alison's mind as she thought to all of the art in the hospital. Alison remembered the painting now, the first time she passed it, she stood there for minutes admiring the piece. 

"How-"

"I painted it." 

Emily had explained that painting was her second job. She told Alison all about her paintings on their drive back to Emily's apartment. She wanted to show Alison her studio, since she was the one who had inspired her so much recently, but of course she didn't voice that to the blonde. Emily unlocked her apartment door and let Alison walk in first. She could only imagine what she thought of Emily's little place compared to her neat and modern home. Alison was surprised to see how Emily lived, but at the same time she wasn't. She figured either Emily was rolling in money, or she didn't have very much. She felt like the place reflected Emily well though, but it definitely wasn't a place she would want to have people over. No kitchen table, no television, and basically no seating, does not equal a good recipe for company. 

Emily led her to the makeshift studio so Alison could see what she did most nights. Alison made approving and sweet comments about the few pieces that Emily had yet to ship out. Alison looked around the room, and then left leaving Emily completely stunned. "You sleep on the couch?" The girl wanted to lecture Emily and tell her that she needed a real bed, her blanket and pillow on the couch had signaled to Alison that she was correct. Emily walked into the main space in her room to face Alison. She never called it a living room, because if she were going by that definition, her little painting room would be her living room. "Emily," the blonde started softly, her eyes showing sympathy for Emily "you need to sleep on a bed."

"It pulls out," Emily shrugged pointing to the couch "but when it does, I don't." Alison stood, shocked, completely...blank. She never thought Emily would joke like that, at least Alison hoped it was a joke. "Kidding," Emily said after the small silence. She really only wanted to make the girl laugh, but apparently she didn't find it as funny as Emily had. "I'm usually too lazy or too tired to get it situated, I think it's pretty comfy."

The rest of the night, Emily was very quiet. They had gone back to Alison's house to watch a movie. Alison wanted Emily to be next to her, holding her or hell, making some kind of contact with her. Instead, the brunette sat on the opposite end of the couch and gave very little attention to Alison. 

Although she would've preferred the girl's attention, she came to a realization. This was Emily trying to get to know and understand the blonde more, she paid so close attention to the movies she had picked out. Emily was like a magic sponge. She remembered almost every detail, about anything, that Alison had spilled to her. 

Emily went home, but not leaving before she pecked the blonde's lips. Emily was a little disappointed in herself. She felt like she disrespected Alison by joking with her about the couch. 'You're a fucking idiot' her brain screamed at her. Her lack of contact with people her own age showed, she felt like an outcast. It was easier for her to talk and communicate with adults; it should be the complete opposite, she's always thought. 

Whenever talking to someone around her age she would stutter, get extremely nervous, and most of the time become more quiet than she already was. Alison wasn't the first to make her feel comfortable, but when she royally fucked up like she did today her confidence level fell. She didn't even know if she should've kissed Alison before she left. She felt like an ass.

In her two past relationships, both of which didn't last very long, her personality was the big issue. She was 'too quiet' and 'awkward at times.' Emily was committed in her first relationship, but her girlfriend was not. She was cheating on Emily with some guy, and only using her for sex; once that information was out, she axed the relationship. 

Her most previous relationship, a whopping four years ago, ended after four months. This whole charade of attending to someone was fairly new to Emily. She liked the company, and she definitely liked Alison. She wanted to take things slow with the girl, seeing how when she moved fast, her relationships never panned out. She's had various flings, but once again, her awkwardness was her ultimate demise. 

While still attending public school, Emily didn't have friends. Well, besides the two girls she dated and some of the guys on the football team were friendly to her, but she never had something legitimately close to a real friend. She never had that relationship with someone who she could talk to about anything. She never had that support system, outside her parents and short time girlfriends. 

Sunday night came quickly, this time Emily and Toby had a game, but then had the next two weeks off. Alison and Spencer carpooled again. On the drive over, they had both talked about their dates during the week. Alison was more concerned about her date compared to Spencer, since Emily basically retracted like a turtle into its shell. 

"But that's how she always is." Was Spencer's point, and she wasn't wrong. Even though Emily and Alison were in the talking stage-dating stage in her mind-she had never brought anything up in conversation with Spencer. Actually, whenever they spoke, she still only said what she had to and that was it. Not to mention, she's been working with Toby for years, and he doesn't even know Emily's favorite color, or if she has any pets, or where she lives. 

Alison knew that Spencer was right, but there was also something else going on. Emily was quiet, yes, that was a given. The entire night though, she was much quieter than the last time they were together. Alison couldn't really point to anything else out of the ordinary. Well, that joke. Alison didn't hate it, or feel like it was too much; in fact, she thought it was really funny, hilarious, she just was so caught off guard. She didn't think that Emily would've ever said something like that. 

"Holy shit." Spencer gasped in amazement at a play Toby and Emily connected with each other, beautifully and an all around great play. "Did she tell you how she got so good at football?"

"Just that she fell in love with it one day."

"Why didn't she go to college and play? She's obviously good enough to play in the National Football League." 

"Life." Alison sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "That's all she said."

"You didn't ask what the hell that was supposed to mean? And you didn't question why she lives like she doesn't have two jobs?" 

"Spencer." Alison elbowed the girl, pretty hard. She didn't think it was funny at all, she was pissed that Spencer would even bring up Emily's living situation. 

"I'm just saying, it is a little weird. She's incredibly nice, and one of the most polite people I have met in my entire life, don't get me wrong, but something is off." Spencer looked to the blonde, reading her, and showing an empathetic sad smile. "You know it too."

Again Spencer was right. She was her best friend after all, sometimes Spencer knew more about Alison than Alison knew about herself. She knew that something was off with the brunette, she could feel it. Friday night, she felt like she could physically feel the little red flag smacking her in the face when sitting next to Emily. But, she also knew from experience that it wasn't necessarily a red flag. There could be numerous possibilities to this little 'red flag' so to speak. She wanted to pressure Emily into telling her about her 'life' excuse in home schooling. She wanted to ask why the hell she would live in such a small apartment, on the bad side of town, with literally nothing in the rooms for furniture. Why, why, why?

Emily was perfect, in every sense of the word, but there was just this...this radiating feeling of something coming from Emily, more so on Friday than any other day Alison had seen her. Sadness? Loneliness? Anger? Whatever it was, once she stepped into the brunettes apartment, it was like the odor permeated through the walls, and gave off the smell to anyone who entered. Her place didn't actually smell but Alison felt a heavier load of whatever Emily was carrying, once she crossed the threshold of Emily's small apartment. 

"Can we hang out tomorrow?" Emily asked, rubbing her neck, as she met Alison in the same spot from the previous week, and where she caught the girl's phone, after tonight's game had concluded with Emily's team getting yet another win. "Shit, sorry." Emily shook her head and asked again "Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to meet up if you were." Wayne had taught Emily a few things about treating a woman right, and he would have scolded her if he heard what she asked the first time. 

Alison chuckled, nodding her head and smiling at the brunette. It was a moment like this where she completely forgot about the mini 'red flag' rippling in the wind. "Come over and watch movies?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could head to the ice rink. If you are totally against it, or even just a little hesitant, a movie date is fine with me." Emily smiled warmly at the blonde, as the blonde smiled back at her but for a completely different reason. Emily called it a date. They were officially in the dating phase, as they were both on the same page.

"The ice rink sounds great." Alison replied. Emily leaned in slowly and placed a delicate kiss to the blonde's plump lips. Emily smiled into the kiss, humming as she so softly captured Alison's bottom lip between hers. Emily's thumb stroked Alison's cheek, and at that point Alison was done. She was a melted puddle of happiness. Emily said goodbye, leaving the blonde as she headed off to work.

They would get this sorted out. Emily would eventually tell her everything, right? Alison wanted to be mad at her, she really did. But how could she be mad at Emily when she was withholding a little 'red flag' of her own?


	6. Chapter 6

Alison told herself that today was the day that she would tell Emily she was going to end up at a hospital in Wisconsin at the beginning of summer. She had been putting it off for the past week, but she's been feeling more guilt pile up with each passing day. Emily herself, was contributing to Alison's guilt. She had taken her out to cute and romantic dates, or requested that they at least got to see each other, every day. Well, every day except for Tuesday. Emily didn't want to ruin Alison and Spencer's special Tuesday gossip together. 

Emily made her feel special. A kind of special no one has ever managed to make her feel, besides her own parents. How was she supposed to leave the brunette? How was she supposed to break the girl's heart, let alone break her own?

Alison had just finished a surgery. Her attending let her take the lead, being able to start the procedure and finish it herself. It was a simple surgery, one Alison had seen performed countless times, and she had scrubbed in on before. A simple Splenectomy. Spencer was waiting for her at the nurses station so they could eat lunch together like they always had. 

"Look who's here." Spencer pointed to the middle of the lunch area when the pair first entered. Emily sat at a table by herself in her uniform, close to the television. She was watching it and sipping on a water, while she picked at a muffin. There was a white bag standing in the middle of the table. "Go." Spencer whispered and pushed the back of the blonde towards the girl. 

"Hey, I didn't know you were coming."

"Oh," Emily turned to face Alison, smiling at her and motioning to sit down "I wanted to surprise you." She pushed the white bag towards Alison along with the coffee she had for the blonde. "You look so beautiful."

"I just got out of surgery; I look gross. Thank you for the food though." Alison smiled, and took a sip of the warm gift from Emily. She peered inside the bag, pulling out a blueberry muffin for herself, and a sandwich from her favorite place, Tony's. She ate her muffin first, as they talked about her surgery, and Emily's day so far. "Do you want some?" Alison motioned to the sandwich she started to unwrap. 

Emily declined, making Alison shrug until she came to a complete stop when she read what was written on the wrapping. 'Will you be my girlfriend?' She looked up at the brunette, who was wearing a sheepish grin, smiling herself. It was cute, so cute. 

"I want to say yes, but I have to tell you something super important." The blonde gulped, she figured this would be the last time that she would ever lay eyes on Emily. She was sure that Emily would get mad for not telling her right away; she was sure the brunette would leave and ask Alison to stay out of her life forever. 

Luckily for her, Emily was good about it. 'We'll figure it out.' She had told Alison. It's exactly what she was hoping to hear, well sort of. She wanted to hear Emily say that she would follow her, that she would go wherever the blonde went, but figuring it out had to be worth something. If not, then Emily's confession of 'I'd rather try and get hurt, than wonder what if and be hurt' definitely eased Alison.

Emily was at home, painting away and waiting for Alison to show up. She invited her newly titled girlfriend over to have a paint date. Emily needed to get some work done and sent out. She really wanted to hang out with Alison and she figured this could be fun for the pair, even if hers had to be serious, at least Alison would have fun. 

Emily herself had some internal conflict. She was somewhat...disappointed with the blonde for not being straight up but neither was she. Well, hers was about the past while Alison's had to do with the very near future; two completely different ends of the spectrum Emily argued with herself. She paused, thinking if she would ever tell the blonde about her secret. Nobody, besides her parents and the Chief of Police knew, well that she knew of. She was pretty sure her secret was locked down, and that's really how she wanted to keep it. She zoned out even further, listening to the beat of the soft music playing, thinking back on those darker times for herself. 

One thing she hated was how easy it was for her to feel like she was reliving it over and over. She relived those days almost every day for the past week. She felt trapped sometimes. Sometimes, she couldn't stop the flashes of her parents faces; she couldn't stop hearing their cries. She couldn't stop her own. She remembered how much pain she was in, sometimes she swore she could feel that same amount of pain. Everything felt...so...so real. And maybe it did because it was real, but every single time it felt just as real as it did all those years ago. The Fields were normally a well put together family, but then, back then, everything they had put together basically fell apart. Emily was the super glue to her family, but she caused them to break. 

"Emily?" She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at the blonde standing just behind her. "What's wrong?" Alison moved in front of the brunette and got to eye level with Emily. She saw her brown eyes shining and pure red and she reached out, clearing a trickling tear down Emily's face who had no idea it was even there. 

"I just..miss my parents." Emily smiled sadly, leaning into Alison's embrace. Alison leaned in, wrapped her arms around Emily, and rubbed the girl's back, trying to soothe her in any way possible. She felt bad for Emily. Alison considered herself very lucky that she still lived near her parents, but once she moved away from them, she would probably be in the same boat Emily was in. "I wish things could go back to how they used to be." Emily mumbled quietly enough that Alison hadn't heard her over the music. Emily squeezed the blonde, thankful that she finally had someone there for her. "Sorry, it's been a really bad week." Emily apologized, her face heating up in a slight embarrassment that Alison had already seen her cry within this short month of being around each other. 

"Hey," Alison pulled back so she could look directly into those beautiful brown eyes "I cried like three days ago because the batteries to the remote control were dead." She reminded Emily, giggling at how stupid and overly emotional she was. "And to make it worse, I cried like thirty minutes later because I dropped the ice cream you bought me on the ground." Emily chuckled, remembering how distraught Alison actually was that the batteries were dead, and she dropped the ice cream. 

Emily had gone to the gas station near Alison's house-while Alison frantically looked throughout the house for batteries-and bought batteries and ice cream for herself and for Alison. Of course, Emily handed Alison her own ice cream to cheer the girl up, which totally didn't go unnoticed by the blonde. She thought it was incredibly sweet that Emily would do that for her, even when she was kind of being unreasonable. Alison leaned in again and placed a savory kiss to Emily's perfect lips. Emily's hands went straight for Alison's neck, a place they had gone anytime the girl's had connected lips. 

"Alright, ready to see how bad I am?" Alison pulled away, excited that Emily would be teaching her some tricks to painting and effectively lightening the mood. Her painting skills were not very good, but hopefully with a couple pointers from Emily, they could be decent. 

Emily kept painting, while Alison retired to the couch. She pulled it out for Emily, since the blonde knew she wouldn't do it later, and she admittedly felt like laying down after a long day. She curled up in Emily's single blanket and laid her head on the girl's pillow, Emily's scent filling her nostrils. 

Emily was trying to settle her nerves before she went on the couch with Alison. She loved sharing moments with Alison like they just had been, laughing and having fun. Emily hadn't done it in so long, she felt...new. Any minute her mother would be FaceTiming her, and she wanted to introduce Alison to her parents. She just hoped that Alison would be okay with that as well. 

Emily took off her apron, and shut the lights off to the room to see Alison lying on her bed watching a video on her phone. Emily crawled in bed and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. "Whatcha watchin'?" Emily asked cheerfully, earning a smile from the blonde who thought Emily was being entirely childish. 

"Just theses cute little puppers." Alison cooed, but closed the video and turning her phone off. 

"Dogs?" Emily teased the girl a little. "My parents are going to be FaceTiming me, and...I-would it-is-would it be okay to introduce you to them?" 

"Of course." Alison replied, smiling down at the brunette. "My parents already want to meet you too." 

"Oh-" 

Almost as if on cue, her mother's name popped up on Emily's screen as the ringtone broke Emily's sentence. Emily shifted off of Alison and into a upright position next to her.

"Hey mom." Emily smiled, seeing her mother for the first time in a while. They had normally FaceTimed everyday, but Emily couldn't stand the worry her parents had for her. Now that they had reduced their calls to almost once or sometimes twice a month, they normally just talked about normal things: such as how many paintings Emily had done since the last time they spoke, how her father was doing, what both Emily and Pam had done at work, football, really just all the stuff Emily ever wanted to talk about. 

"Hi sweetie. Oh, I've missed you so much." Her mom smiled widely back at her, and she knew she was about to fire off rapid question after question, so she decided to beat her mother to it. 

"I've missed you both too. How are you guys doing?" Her mother smiled, and started rattling off how her and Wayne were doing. Emily zoned out, taking in her mother's appearance, as that was a bigger telling stone than anyone's words. Body language and body appearance didn't lie. Pam looked good, her smile was reaching her eyes as she talked. Emily noticed she was wearing a new necklace; it had two little charms on it. Pam had been talking about getting it for a while now, but she had finally gotten it. 

"How are you honey? Are you doing okay? Is everything good?"

"Yes mom, I'm really good." Emily looked over at the blonde, smiling at her. The blonde was a giant part of her up lifted mood, and she knew her mother probably sensed that something was going on with her. "Mom, I want you to meet my girlfriend; Alison." Emily leaned over and faced the camera on the blonde laying next to her. 

"Oh, you're absolutely gorgeous. Well, it's so nice too meet you Alison." Her mother's good mood seemed to lift to an unbearably high amount that Emily rolled her eyes at. Pam was always so happy for her whenever she made a new friend, let a lone a girlfriend. 

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Fields." Alison replied sweetly.

"Can you put dad on?"

"Oh sure honey." Pam started rambling off what a few co-workers wanted Emily to paint for them as she walked to the bedroom to hand the phone to Wayne, who was in bed reading a book. 

"Hey dad."

"Hey kiddo, I miss you."

"I miss you too dad. This is my girlfriend, Alison." Emily motioned to the girl on her screen, watching the biggest smile come across her father's face; the biggest smile she's seen from him in years. 

"Hi there. I hope my little girl has been treating you well." Her father said nicely to Alison, but she could see the serious glint in his eyes, only reserved for her. 

"Dad."

"Don't worry, she's been extremely good to me." Alison and Emily both said at the same time. Emily crawled out of bed, muttered a quick 'be right back' to Alison, and left to head outside to talk to her father in private.

Emily returned, chilled as it was lightly snowing now and she was only in a t-shirt and shorts, and curled back onto the bed. She made sure not to get close to Alison so she wouldn't make the girl cold, but she faced the girl so she could talk to her. 

"So, you probably weren't able to tell since he was in bed, but my dad is paralyzed from the waist down." Emily looked away from the blonde. In order to continue telling her all the information, she needed to look away from those shocked and sad blue eyes. "It was just-it was an accident. It was really hard on my mom, and especially my dad. My mom didn't make enough money here at the station, so she looked elsewhere, and LA wanted her and they were willing to pay. So, reluctantly, they left."

Alison shuffled closer to Emily, reaching to tuck a stray hair behind the girl's ear. Emily closed her eyes, and reached her hand out for the blonde herself. She wrapped an arm around the blonde's figure and pulled her closer. She felt Alison softly wipe the pad of her thumb across her own cheek, because once again, she was crying. "Stay with me tonight." Emily whispered out so softly due to her nervousness and the fact the she was still letting tears flow down her cheeks. "Please." She whispered again, still keeping her eyes sealed shut. 

"Okay." Alison whispered and kissed the girl on the cheek. She curled into Emily's chest and felt the girl's arm tighten around her. Emily's body shook as she cried, and really, Alison had no idea what to do. She just let Emily hold her and hoped that it worked. It was hard for her to see the girl break down twice in the same day. She hadn't seen her break down before tonight, and she really didn't imagine it would be like this.

It had taken Emily hours to fall asleep. Even when the girl finally stopped crying, she was still awake. Alison had gotten up to use the restroom about an hour after she stopped crying and she was wide awake, just staring at the ceiling. Alison knew she wasn't going to be getting any sleep, but that's what they made coffee for. She wanted to talk with Spencer about all this, which in reality she probably will, but she wasn't sure if she should. She wasn't sure if Emily wanted to keep this between the two of them.


	7. Chapter 7

Alison was excited to see all her family, and especially the family dog Zoe. She missed them all. Her entire family always got together on Thanksgiving, which was one of the reasons that she loved it so much. She was a little disappointed that Emily couldn't come; Emily really wanted to, but she was scheduled to work a double. 

She walked into the loud house, filled with clattering, hollering, singing, yelling, and laughing. It brought a smile to Alison's face knowing that nothing had changed. Zoe barked, hearing the front door close, and soon Alison had the miniature beagle jumping on her. She could smell the turkey already, something else she really loved about the holidays. She was greeted by her aunt and uncle, Stacy and Jim, while she was walking towards the kitchen. Everyone was always so interested to know how she was doing, and if she decided where she would be headed next year. 

She finally made her way into the kitchen, seeing her mom still cooking away while everyone else had migrated back into the living room to watch the football game. 

"Need any help?"

"Alison!" Her mother screeched and put the knife and potato she was peeling on the counter so she could hug her. It had only been a few weeks since she had last seen her mother, but they talked-at least through text-everyday. Her mother was very disappointed that Emily would not be able to make an appearance, but they decided that Alison would deliver a plate full of food to Emily while she was at work once we were done eating. Actually, her mother was more saddened that Emily wouldn't be there compared to some of their family members. 

'No "Uncle" Dave this year!' 

It was some random guy Jason had meet on the streets who was older than he. Alison, her mother, and father hated him. They all felt that Dave was a little weird, and off, and they all felt like they couldn't even trust the man in their own home. Alison was excited to see Jason, but she was also going to use this time to help him get back on track. He had mixed himself in some drugs, and the rest of her immediate family hated it as much as she did. None of them really knew how to approach the subject, but Alison figured she needed to try now before it was too late. 

Her talk with Jason didn't go too horribly. He said he had already quit, yet Alison was still concerned that he was still hanging out with those friends of his. That was something that she simply could not control, and that's how she'd have to leave it. At least Jason had realized that he needed to quit before he did any detrimental damage to himself and the rest of the family. He even mentioned himself about settling down, which was something Alison saw as a major positive. Jason was a few years older than she, 32, as she was now 25. She was happy that he was thinking about his future for basically the first time in his life.

"So Alison, when do you hear back from all the hospitals?" Her grandpa had asked, roughly twenty minutes into their dinner. Alison bent down as discreetly as possible to feed Zoe a piece of turkey. 

"I won't hear back until January." Alison nodded and sipped on her wine. 

"I hope you go to Wisconsin; your dad and I will be able to catch a game and come visit you." Her grandpa smiled, showing his missing teeth. Alison always got a laugh out of her grandpa when he had his teeth out. 

"Yeah, we all want to go to a game." Kenneth motioned to all the men. They all loved the Packers, and tonight since they were on Prime Time, the house was going to be wild while the game was on.

"Ohhh, we should go for a playoff game!" Jason exclaimed, Kenneth and the rest of the men approved. 

"How about-" a knock stopped Jessica mid sentence and she peered at the clock above the stove. 

"I'll get it." Jason said, since he was the closest to the door. 

"I was going to say that we should all go to a game before Alison leaves." Jessica voices to everyone sitting at the table. As a result, the house erupts into excited yelling, and only Jessica had realized that Jason came back in the room with someone following him; Zoe hadn't even barked, she wagged her tail happily at Emily, and sniffed her feet. "Oooh, you must be Emily!" Alison immediately looked up from the table and towards the entrance to in fact, see her girlfriend standing in their dining room, still dressed in her uniform. 

The entire table was staring at Emily, mostly in awe of how gorgeous she was, but a few of the DiLaurentis' were shocked at her chosen profession. "I'll go get a plate for you, take a seat!" Alison could tell her mother was so excited to meet Emily. She was excited for her parents to meet Emily too, but from how her mother was already praising Emily-without even meeting her-Alison could tell she was already sold on the girl. She knew that her mother would act like a second mother to Emily, and so far she was not disappointing. 

Uncle Jim had moved down a seat, so Emily could sit next to Alison. Emily smiled at the man she practically towered in height over. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend Emily." Alison announced to the table as Emily sat down. She grabbed Emily's hand and leaned into the girl's side to whisper to her. "I thought you had to work?"

"Susan made me leave. If I get radioed I have to leave-" Emily whispered back, but was interrupted by Jessica.

"You two, are just too cute." Jessica commented and handed Emily the plate in her hand after the two girls had separated from their little bubble. 

The rest of dinner went pretty well. No one really questioned Emily, which Alison was very grateful for. Alison had gotten up to help get the food and plates off the table, while Emily sat behind. Everyone except for Emily and grandpa Norman had left the table. "I'll show you around." Alison stood next to Emily, waiting for her to get up.

"After your grandpa is done and everything is cleaned up." Emily looked up at the girl and smiled. Jessica came back in and collected Emily's plate, but the Emily wouldn't let her take it. "It's okay, I'll take care of it."

"Oh honey, it's fine. I can take care of it so Alison can show you around."

"I'm sorry ma'am, it's just a way I was raised, but I like to wait until everyone at the table is done eating and take care of my mess." Emily shrugged and continued explaining, "it's just kind of odd to me that we wait for everyone to eat, but then we leave people waiting at the table to sit by themselves and one person to do all the dishes."

"She's a good one Ali-bear." Grandpa Norman said, stuffing the last bit of mashed potatoes he had left on his plate into his mouth. "Thanks for keeping me company dear." After cleaning up and giving Emily the tour of the house, they sat on the floor in the living room with everyone as the game was in it's pre-show and going to start soon.

"Just warning you Emily, we're all Packer fans in this house." Kenneth looked at Emily, trying to read her reaction. Alison never asked Emily who she rooted for, she started internally panicking. What if she was uncomfortable being in a room literally full of fans to a team she hated?

"Oh, I am too." Emily replied with a light tipped smile. "I wasn't the biggest fan of the NFL, but I watch a lot of film on Randall Cobb and try to emulate some of the things he does."

"You're like six-one, maybe even six-two. Why don't mirror Jordy or Davante? Julio Jones?" Jason blurted, which Alison thought was ignorant for him to even ask, although she had literally no idea what they were talking about.

"That's just how I play." Alison leaned into Emily, laying her head on her girlfriends shoulder as they both watched the game, and placed her hand on the girl's thigh. Somehow she thought that Emily would get her brain wave that 'Jason's an idiot. Don't worry about it.' Emily kissed the blonde's temple and went silent. The game started and of course the entire household, beside Emily and Alison, was screaming at the television, through the good and the bad of the game. 

All Emily could think about though was how luxurious she felt just being in the DiLaurentis home. Looking around all the luxuries Alison's parents had, made her wonder what kind of cars they both drove. Alison had told her that Kenneth was the CEO of a couple electronic stores in the area, while her mother, Jessica, opened a small business where she sold arts and crafts that she made. 

Emily had to leave before the first half of the game was over. Alison, along with her mother groaned at the loss of Emily's presence in the household. Jessica had promised Emily that she would send Alison with some leftovers and deserts for her. She gave Alison a quick, but passionate kiss-literally in front of everyone-and promised to call her later tonight. Emily thanked Jessica for a lovely meal, before she was out the door and sped away-lights and all. Alison went in the kitchen to help her mother make Emily a big leftover platter and get some desserts out.

"I didn't realize she was that tall. Or that good looking. Or that polite. Or that quiet. Is she always like that?" Her mother made Alison laugh. She had thought the exact same thing the first few times she had been around Emily. 

"No." Alison sighed, happily, thinking back to recent memories of her and Emily. "For the most part, yeah, but not all the time." Alison put both of her elbows on the kitchen island and watched her mother cut into the pumpkin pie she had just pulled out from the fridge. 

"I like her. So does Zoe, and I think your dad loves her." Jessica chuckled, remembering the way her husbands face lit up when Emily had explained a play to Alison. Emily was whispering, but her father was paying more attention to the pair than he was to the game. 

"Yeah, I do too. Whenever we go out, she takes me on simple dates; stuff every girl dreams of. Going skating, a walk in the park, a picnic with an amazing view..I love that. We don't really go out on fancy dates, and I really like that." Alison smiled, looking down at her hands. She knew her mother would be ecstatic for her. "She paints you know? She's really good mom, like amazing."

"I'd love to see her work sometime." Her mother smiled, and started putting the pie on plates for everyone to eat. 

This had to have been her favorite Thanksgiving so far. The entire house was filled with such a good spirit, and she got to spend it with Emily. Everyone just basically accepted Emily, no questions asked. Her grandpa had very high praise for Emily, 'great kid. You better hold onto that one. People like her don't come around very often.' She knew that her grandpa was right, and she knew first hand. The way Emily treated her, and took care of her...was simply unmatched. No one had ever surprised her at lunch before. No one had taken her on simple dates, not overly fancy ones where they were trying to impress Alison. Honestly, she loved being around the brunette. She loved how simple Emily really was. 

'Will you please thank your parents for me again? And apologize that I had to leave so early? I wish I could have stayed, I was having a really good time. I'll call you in a couple minutes, I'll finally be free'

Emily's text was just another thing that she loved about the brunette. She was always up front with Alison. Alison struggled herself to be upfront with people, but it made communication between the two very easy. Actually, from how Emily was now, she believed that Emily would do anything for her. Admittedly, it scared the shit out of her. In all reality, she would do the same thing for Emily; because she loved Emily. 

She loved Emily. 

She. Loved. Emily. 

Alison quickly grabbed Emily's leftover plate and dashed out of the house without a word. Her family was probably watching her like she was a lunatic. But maybe she was. She didn't care. She got in her vehicle and came to a stop, seeing her car there, she ran to the designated door. She knocked on the door, feeling clammy and nervous. She just wanted it all-

The door opened, revealing a very confused, but adorable Emily. She was changed into plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt. Alison noted how tired she looked, but when she realized that it was Alison standing there, she perked up. "Alison? Is everything okay? What are-"

"I love you." The blonde interrupted, watching Emily's face visibly relax from her previous emotion; worry. Emily just stared at the blonde standing on her doormat.

"W-what?" Emily choked out, her voice husky. She had to know if she heard the other woman correctly.

"I love you."

The silence between them was unbearable. Alison could feel the beat of her heart banging loudly against her ears. Emily was rendered speechless. There was nothing said for seconds, maybe minutes. Blue eyes focused on brown. Alison could feel Emily's heavy breath hitting her face, she could see how dark Emily's orbs turned. 

Emily finally snapped. She grabbed Alison's arm, dragging her into the apartment and closed the door with her foot and quickly locked the door. Alison stood as stunned now, that Emily was moments ago. Emily grabbed the plate of food from Alison and put it in the fridge. Alison watched the girl, curious as to what she was doing and what was going on in her brain. 

Emily took two quick strides over to Alison before she grabbed the girl's face to plant a heavy kiss to her lips. Alison sighed, feeling Emily's tongue fight with her own. Emily gripped the sides of Alison's jacket and quickly slipped it off of her, and dismissed it to the floor. Emily's hands landed on Alison's ass, she forced the pair to the middle of the room, hitting the already made bed and falling into it. Alison watched as Emily took off her shirt and pajama pants. Alison's breathing was very heavy, her body was on fire. It was every where, she felt it through her toes. Emily crawled on top of her, nibbling away at Alison's neck while she unbuckled the girl's pants. Emily's hand dipped into the blonde's underwear, who sucked in a breath at the teasing Emily was orchestrating. 

Alison slipped off her own shirt and bra quickly while Emily took off her jeans and panties. She wanted to protest, saying that it wasn't fair she was completely naked, yet Emily was still covered. Emily positioned herself completely on top of the other girl and leaned down to kiss her again. Alison moaned, feeling Emily's lips and her clear arousal creating friction against her own most intimate area. "God, I love you." Emily whispered, planting kisses lower and lower on the blonde's body. Alison shuddered, her core yearning for Emily's touch even more. "Do not cum until I say so." Emily ordered, latching her mouth on one of Alison's nipples. Emily's hand trailed down to Alison's throbbing core. She pulled away, took off her sports bra, and then leaned back down to tease Alison again. 

Alison writhed and moaned under Emily's touch. Her tongue was creating a hot trail all over her body, and she already felt the need for a release. She ground her hips against Emily's already hard member, making the girl above her stop her ministrations and let out a loud moan. Emily slithered down her body and immediately gave Alison attention where she most desired. Emily's tongue hit her clit as her fingers drove deep into Alison's core. "Emily." Alison felt herself building up, just as Emily hit her sensitive spot, the girl stopped, and pulled down her boxers. Alison marveled at Emily's toned torso, then her eyes caught a glimpse of Emily's fully erect member. 

Emily plunged two fingers into Alison this time, Alison's hands gripped the sheets beside her as her head fell back further into the pillow. Emily's tongue licking and teasing her clit did not help Alison's cause. "Emily." The blonde moaned again, feeling like she was about to burst at any moment. Emily pulled her fingers out, causing Alison to whimper. She was so close. Then Alison felt a new object toying with her. Emily was teasing her entrance with her thick cock. Emily moaned, "you like that?" Her voice sultry. 

"Ooh, yes, oh-please Emily." Emily felt her dick twitch, god, was Alison irresistible. Emily slammed into Alison, both girl's letting out a loud moan. Emily grabbed Alison's hands and pinned them above her head, and leaned down to kiss her as she moved inside the girl. Alison moaned into Emily's lips. Emily knew that Alison was on the verge of her release, but she wasn't going to allow her to cum just yet. She stopped again, and slipped out of the girl, focusing her attention on the girl's lips and neck. 

"You're not allowed to cum." Emily whispered in Alison's ear before she nibbled on it. Alison shivered, she felt like she could've released right then and there. Emily slammed back into her, "Emily, holy fuck." Emily smiled against the girl's skin, leaving kisses against her shoulder and neck. Emily picked up her pace, lightly gripping the girl's throat as she slammed into Alison a little harder with each quick thrust. 

The variations of moans that came from Alison's mouth was like music to Emily's ears. "Hmm, you like that baby?" Alison answered with another loud moan. Emily herself was on the verge of her own release. "Cum." Emily breathed, she let go of Alison's neck and arms that she had trapped with one of her own. She rubbed her thumbs over both of Alison's nipples, helping the girl reach her breaking point. "Cum for me baby." Alison yelled out, her body shaking from the immense amount of pure pleasure. 

Emily pulled out, letting herself explode on Alison's torso. She connected the pair's lips once more, tasting the saltiness on Alison's lips from her sweat. Emily collapsed next to her, using her arm as her pillow, and brushed a sweat coated strand of hair out of the blonde's face. "You are so beautiful," she whispered. Alison finally shifted, laying her head on Emily's shoulder. "I love you, baby." 

Alison hummed happily, her hand now tracing lightly against Emily's toned abs. "I love you too, Emily." She felt Emily kiss the top of her head, and heard her mumble, 'stay. Don't leave tonight.' Alison didn't dream of it. Before she could answer, she heard Emily's breathing steady out and she fell into a light slumber. She rolled off Emily, without trying to wake her, and searched for her jeans. 

'We have a lot to talk about tomorrow. See you at work :)' 

She sent the text to Spencer, and crawled back into bed. She rested back on the brunette's shoulder, feeling the warmth that radiated from her body. Alison loved it, their bodies so close and entwined after such an intimate moment. She smiled, and watched the girl next to her sleep. She could really get used to this. She loved spending time with Emily, but this was a moment of pure bliss. A silent night, where she could just admire her girl. It was a perfect night; a magical night. She finally got something that she's been missing over the years. Pure happiness.


	8. Chapter 8

"Spencer!" Alison hugged her best friend. To say her mood had skyrocketed in the past few days was an understatement. 

"Hi." Spencer looked at her weirdly. "What did you finally get laid?" Spencer spotted Alison's blush. She was just joking with the girl, but she was a little surprised that it happened this soon. Alison had only known Emily for about a month. "Well you work fast."

Alison slapped Spencer with her clipboard. "Oh shut up." The two finished up with their charts and headed for the cafeteria. "I just feel..happy Spence. Like so happy."

Spencer tilted her head, nodding, mostly to herself. "Well if sex was all it took for you to be happy, I think I would've been throwing bodies at you a long time ago." Spencer half joked. Alison had been going through the motions for most of her life. She set out to get her degree, then her internship, then her residency, and the next goal was to be head of general surgery.

"Spencer, that's completely wrong." Alison shook her head and waved her fork at the girl. "Emily makes me so happy. We could abstain from sex and I would be happy. I mean the sex is amazing and I would miss it, but if I could have her in my life I would be okay. Oh, just so you know, her little red flag has to do with the bedroom." Spencer's eyes widened, and Alison smirked.

"Oh, well, I guess it's good that you seem to like it?" 

"But Spencer, I thought I would only be happy if I was the head of general. I thought that's all I needed in my life. But I could be a janitor right now and not give two shits. Like I don't really know how to explain it. I'm just-"

"In love." Spencer smiles, shoving a grape into her mouth. Spencer has always felt sorry for the blonde. She was always determined to thrive in her field of work. She was always so focused, not to say that Spencer herself was not, but Alison always made it her number one priority and number two and number three and number four. Spencer knew that this wouldn't work forever, there would be a point where Alison would figure it out; that she would need a social life. She'd really only go out once or twice a month, third wheeling with Spencer and Toby.

"I mean how could I not be in love with her?"

"Yeah," Spencer sighed, smiling widely at her friend, "she is really something isn't she?" 

Alison's pager went off halfway through their lunch period. The chief of surgery wanted to talk to her, and it made her nervous to say the least. 

"Hey Emily." Toby called to the brunette who had just came off of her lunch break. 

"Hi Toby." The girl muttered out, dipping her head and turning to walk towards her desk. 

Toby grabbed her arm to stop her from retiring to her desk. "I actually need your help on a case." Toby smiled at the brunette, who smiled back at him. He knew that Emily loved working, and she liked to help people out when needed. 

Toby, along with the entire department, always went to Emily for help. She was simply the best in the department. Almost everyone in the office believe that Emily herself will take over the chief's job position when he retires. Emily had a different angle of looking at things compared to everyone else. Somehow it seemed as though Emily knew exactly what he motives behind the crime were and could easily distinguish what happened, just by looking at the scene. 

Toby and Emily spent a few hours in a conference room going over the case. Well, basically Emily going over the case and Toby running in and out of the room to get snacks and anything that Emily requested. 

Emily looked at the clock and sighed. The department was darker, only officer Hanson was in, everyone else on the night shift was out patrolling. "Go home, Spencer's waiting for you." Emily told Toby, as she herself started to pack up the file. 

"Oh, no, I told Spencer I'd be home late. It's okay." 

"Go home. Spend time with her. Sleep on it, we'll come back fresh tomorrow." 

Emily packed the rest of the file together and shoved it into her brief case. "You're going home to work on the case, aren't you? Emily it's-"

"You've been staring at it too long. You're thinking too hard. Think like you're throwing me the ball; just don't." Toby chuckled. He had been staring at that file for over two days now, and he was no closer to determining anything about the killer. 

"You know, you're the best receiver I've seen in my life, but you're an even better person." Emily smiled at him, not really knowing what to say back. "You're a good kid. I'm really glad you're my friend." Toby put his arm around Emily as they both walked out of the building. If he was being honest, he felt more like a bigger brother to Emily than a friend. He was older, 28, but sometimes-most times-he felt that Emily was the bigger brother out of the two. 

She was always there for him when he asked, work related or not. He enjoyed her company, as did Spencer. He was actually very happy that Spencer had taken a liking to his friend. "Hey," he turned to Emily, "you and Alison, come over tomorrow to have dinner with Spencer and I?" 

"Oh I can't just intrude-"

"You're thinking too hard." Toby teased, earning a smile from Emily. "Come over at 7:30." Toby slipped into his car and set off for home. 

Spencer jumped at the closing of their front door. "Hey Spence!" She heard Toby yell. She set the chicken she just pulled out of the over on the counter and went to tend to the broccoli steaming on the stove top. 

"Hey, thought you weren't going to be home until late?" She commented. Toby started to pick at a piece of bread laying on the counter, shrugging at Spencer's comment. 

"Emily made me leave. We were working on a case but she forced me to come home and see you." Toby joked. He was glad to come home to Spencer, but he didn't mind working late. 

"Hmmm. You know, she's like a fine wine. She keeps getting better with age, or every passing day, but you get what I mean." 

"I invited her and Alison to dinner tomorrow night, is that okay?" Toby could see the way that her eyes lit up. Internally, Spencer had been wanting to have both girls over for dinner for a while now. Well, since the two had become official. 

Emily went home, dismissing any painting tonight. She actually had a full day off on Wednesday, two days from now, so she figured she'd get most of her art work done then. She cleared off her very small "kitchen" table so she could spread all the documents on it. 

She got lost in her work, completely shutting the world out since she had arrived home. She hadn't even left the table for hours, not to eat, not to use the restroom. She hadn't even heard her phone going off, which was buzzing every five minutes. 

Emily finally quit for the night, nearing midnight now, she sighed and started to prepare herself for bed. Her phone went off again, this time Alison calling her. 

"Hello?" She answered hoarsely. She hadn't spoken for hours, not to mention she was now sleepy. 

"Emily?" 

"Yes?"

"Oh my god, you scared me. I thought you were hurt!" 

"Okay, Alison I'm fine. I'm-I was just working." Emily huffed, kicking her pants off along with the disposal of her shirt and then sprawling herself out on the couch. 

"I know, but you didn't answer for hours Em. I was worried." 

"I'm fine babe." Emily smiled so lightly at the use of Alison's nickname for her. She liked it. 

"Yes, but Em, you were supposed to come here. And you didn't call. You didn't text. What was I supposed to do but worry?" 

"I'm sorry." Emily answered lightly. "It totally slipped my mind, Toby and I are working on a case and-"

"It's okay, it's okay." Alison knew that Emily didn't mean to forget about their meet up. She knew how work could be. She knew how mind consuming surgery could be, so she honestly couldn't even imagine the mental capacity being a police officer took. 

"No. No, it's not. I'm not supposed to just forget about you. I'll make it up to you, I promise." 

The next morning Alison found a single rose waiting for her at her locker. She smiled brightly, knowing that it had to be Emily. 

'We're having dinner with Spencer and Toby tonight, sorry to ruin your gossip Tuesday, but after we will be spending time together. Have a great day baby, see you at 7.'

Alison felt butterflies in her stomach. Honestly she was just as excited to have Spencer spend some time with Emily as she was for her parents. Spencer really liked Emily too, but she didn't really know her. Not like Alison did at least, and she knew that Spencer would like her even more when she spent some down time with the brunette that she was falling more and more in love with each day. 

"Okay Mrs. Jennings, Dr. Nelson will be taking you up to surgery in a few minutes here, do you have any last minute questions?" 

"If you feel like you and Dr. Nelson can't continue, I want you to." 

Alison and her superior, attending Dr. Nelson, we're going to be removing some METS on a few of Mrs. Jennings organs. She had been receiving chemotherapy treatment for a while now, but this surgery was her last option to treat her cancer. 

"Mrs. Jennings-"

"Dr. Dilaurentis, do you have a boyfriend?" 

"Girlfriend, actually." Alison's patient smiled at her. Alison usually had a good reaction from her patients when she told them she dated women. 

"I know how much pain I'm in, but I can see how much this hurts Devon more. Imagine if you were sick, imagine what your girlfriend would feel. Imagine how she would feel having to see you suffer and be in pain all the time. I want you to fix me, I want you to try and fix me no matter what, because as much as this illness is killing me, it's killing Devon more." 

"Okay." Alison replied, leaving the room to go talk to Dr. Nelson. Honestly, Alison didn't think she'd be able to handle putting Emily through so much pain, so she really did understand her patient's wish. Because she would want the same thing, she wouldn't want Emily to be in pain any more, she wanted to help her brunette. 

"Hey Ali." Emily kissed her as soon as Alison walked into her apartment. "How do I look?" Emily fixed the sleeves of her plaid shirt, and smoothed out a wrinkle in her jeans. 

"I don't want you to be in pain anymore." Alison stated, kissing Emily again, completely ignoring Emily's question. 

"What?" Emily was confused. She had asked how she looked and Alison completely ignored her. She thought she didn't look dressed up enough, but that was basically all she had, and now Alison's odd statement made her self conscious and out of place. 

"I don't want you to be in pain anymore. Let me help you. You barely have enough food. You don't have enough clothes, I can bet that you are going commando right now because you don't have any clean boxers, am I right?" Emily just stared at the blonde, neither confirming nor denying her statement, which told her she was correct. "You don't have a real bed. You drive an older truck that is bound to have problems very soon. You live in the worst part of town. Let me help you, please." Alison wanted to cry seeing how Emily lived. 

"Baby, I'm okay. You have helped me more than you could ever know." 

"But Em-" 

"Alison. I love you. And I love how caring you are, but I'm fine, Okay? I'm not in pain, I promise." 

Emily smiled, making Alison feel a little better about the whole situation. She has seen people off worse, but she was still going to help Emily out from time to time. She was determined. She actually already made her mind up on the way over, this weekend she would take Emily out to shop, but now it looks like she'll just have to surprise her. 

"You look beautiful." Emily said, breaking Alison out of her thoughts. Emily's warm lips connected with Alison's again. The blonde sighed, she could never get sick of Emily. She was soft, and warm, and way too kind for her own good, overall just so intoxicating. Emily deserved the world. Alison was willing to do anything in her power to make sure Emily finally got what she deserved in her life. Emily needed a little boost in her life right now, and Alison was going to give it to her.

"You look great." Alison grabbed both sides of her open plaid shirt and pulled Emily into her, forcing their lips to collide once again. Emily smiled into the kiss, breaking away to chuckle at the blonde. 

"What did I do to get this many kisses?" Emily laughed. Alison just pushed the girl's arm. She took Emily's hand in her own, looking down at her large hands that fit with her own so well. 

"You make me happy." 

The pair arrived, surprisingly on time. Emily drove Alison's car over to Spencer's. Alison liked having Emily drive. She could stare at the brunette or watch Emily sing to her. Emily didn't want Alison's car to be left while they were gone, Alison didn't mind it staying since t had been fine the previous times she stayed over at Emily's, but Emily insisted that they took Alison's car. 

Alison and Spencer really enjoyed the double date. Spencer and Toby had whipped up some homemade pizza and the night ended with some games. The four had laughed endlessly together. Spencer and Alison cried from laughing so hard at both Toby and Emily. 

Alison and Spencer where Taboo partners while Toby and Emily were, who were very competitive and Toby yelled at Emily, in a joking way, that her clues sucked and she was going to be the reason why they lost. Emily's clues were actually very good, just not to Toby, and she guessed almost all of Toby's clues correctly, even though his clues were not very good. 

"See why I didn't want him on my team?" Spencer laughed at Toby's clue. "She'll never get this." 

"Um, um, underwater! Underwater and 'sea creatures.'" Toby looked at Emily, expecting her to get the word. The sand trickled down the timer, Alison, Spencer, and Toby watched it trickle to the point where it was almost gone. The teams were tied, and there was only seconds left. 

"SpongeBob Squarepants." Emily guessed. 

"YES!" Toby jumped up, giving Emily a high five and then got in Spencer's face. "See why I didn't want him on my team?" He mocked, making Alison burst out laughing again. 

"Come on you cheater, lets go get dessert." Spencer grabbed his hand, dragging him into their kitchen while he teased his brunette for losing. Emily plopped back into the couch, smiling at Alison's friend. Alison came over at sat next to her, snuggling into the warmth of the brunette. 

"Are you going to tease me too?" Emily hummed, placing her hand on Alison's thigh and smiling down at the beautiful blonde. 

"No, don't want you to be mad at me now, do we?" Alison laughed, wrapping her Emily into a hug. "You make me happy too." 

Emily kissed the top of Alison's head, and resting her head on top of Alison's. Emily felt like she was with an angel whenever she was around the blonde, and the feeling of that pureness, uplifting, and wholeness of it all, she wanted the blonde around forever. Emily never had felt so incredibly happy in her life, she was close to it when she was a freshman in high school, but it all came crashing down so quickly and turned her world so...grey. But now, her world was filled with color again and she never wanted to look back.


	9. Chapter 9

"Emily!" Alison and Emily were at the Dilaurentis house, getting their house equipped with Christmas decorations. Emily and Kenneth put up the tree, while Alison and Jessica baked some cookies. Alison was on her tip toes reaching to pluck a dead branch from the tree, waiting for her parents to come up from the basement with all the ornaments. Emily saw Alison's bare skin and decided to attack. 

Emily started tickling the girl, taking her to the ground. Both Ken and Jessica were upstairs in time to watch the duo laughing together. Both of Alison's parents were ecstatic that their little girl was so happy. 

"Aren't they adorable Ken?" Jessica whispered, the young couple's cuteness peaking at Emily's bribe, a kiss to stop tickling the squirming blonde on the floor.

"They remind me of us."

It was a tradition of the Dilaurentis family to watch a Christmas movie after the tree was set up, and the house was completely decorated. Granted they were missing Jason, god knows where he was, but none the less they were happy to add Emily to their tradition. 

"I'm going to make some popcorn for us to share." 

"It's okay, I'm not hungry." All three Dilaurentis' went in the kitchen to gather various items for their movie. Emily sat, relaxed into the recliner, watching the intro of The Santa Clause 3 that kept flashing over and over on the screen as she waited for everyone to come back. 

Alison sat with Emily in the big Lazy-Boy. Alison's mind drifted during the movie, she set the popcorn bowl on the side table and ran her hand under the blanket, and under Emily's shirt. She was lightly scratching the girl's toned stomach, her action made Emily's head shift that was resting on her chest. 

Her hand wandered further down, rubbing Emily's member over her sweat pants. "Stop, or I'm going to have to punish you again." Emily whispered so lowly, it made Alison shiver. 

"Ah, ah, ah...you weren't supposed to cum. Now," Emily grabbed two pair of handcuffs from the drawer in her small side table. She clamped them over Alison's hands and closed the other cuff to the small steel bars on the side of the 'bed', making certain that Alison couldn't move. "I have to punish you for being a bad girl." 

Without even realizing it, Alison was now stroking Emily's erect member, feeling very turned on from her memory of a few nights ago. "Alison, please." Emily whispered again, but this time it came out as more of a whimper, undoubtedly begging the girl to stop. Alison stopped, realizing how bad this could turn out, seeing as Emily was barely containing herself and it would not have looked good in front of her parents; at all. 

Emily's head rested back down on the girl's chest, feeling relieved and very sleepy. She was left turned on, but her tiredness was greater. Within minutes the brunette passed out, her body turned into Alison's with her right arm flung over her girlfriend's torso. Emily had just worked a midnight shift, and hadn't napped in order for her to get some paintings done, and so she could decorate with her girlfriend's family. 

Alison thought it was cute, but she was also a little envious of Emily. She was always able to fall asleep, practically when her head hit the pillow, and once she was asleep, she was really out until morning. One time, Alison even started screaming, just to see if Emily would wake up; she didn't. If she ever needed Emily to wake up, she'd have to shake and yell constantly, which was never a good idea but had to happen sometimes. Emily was very crabby right after she woke up, morning, night, middle of the day, anytime, you name it. 

"She has a game tomorrow?" Alison's father questioned, he was more interested in football than anything. 

"Yeah, they moved it to Friday since Saturday is Christmas Eve." Alison said, smiling at her dad. 

"Alison be quiet." Her mother scolded as well as she could through a whisper. "Emily is sleeping." Her mother could hear the faint snore that emitted from the brunette. 

Alison laughed, causing her mother to shoot her another look. "You could bang pots and pans in here and she would still be passed out." Alison laughed again, this time both her parents chuckled too. 

"Would it be okay if we went with you tomorrow? To her game?" 

"Oh, of course. Um, are you guys doing anything the 26th?" Ken looked to Jessica, who shook her head. Alison smiled at the small exchange, before continuing her question. "Emily works all day on both Christmas Eve and Christmas, so she wanted to exchange our gifts then, and she said she had something for you guys, so...would that work?" 

"That sounds just fine honey, we have something for her too."

Alison watched her mother and father, mainly her father, for their reactions during Emily's game. She knew how good Emily was, but she really wanted to see what her parents initial thoughts on each play was. 

Emily felt a little tired and sluggish tonight compared to any other day, but it didn't show in her play. They were only in the second quarter, against Harper's fire crew, and Emily was single handedly torching the team. 

There were a few guys on the opposing team, much like James from Ravenswood police, so she was bound to take a few shots on some routes over the middle of the field. Emily knew that Alison would be worried, they played without any protection, but it proved to be safer than playing with it. They had no real traumatizing hits, or any significant injuries since the league had started.

Emily lined up across the team's leading receiver over on the right side of the field. She had a feeling that she knew what the play was, so she decided to take a chance. If she was right, she'd intercept the ball and give her team a chance to win. If she was wrong, she'd probably only give up a first down. 

She played the man like he was running a streak play, but when he broke, she drove towards the ball, successfully intercepting the ball on what was a curl route. 

The game ended in a loss for Rosewood's team. Toby threw an interception on what would have been the game winning drive. Emily already felt sore. Her body was already tired, and taking the shots she took tonight, didn't really help. 

"Hey kid, you got some real talent." Alison's dad approached first, knocking his fist playfully into Emily's shoulder. 

"Oh, thank you sir." 

"Emily, please, you really can just call us by our first name." Jessica corrected Emily as her and Alison finally caught up to both Kenneth and Emily. 

"Sorry, Mrs. D-Jessica it's a habit."

Emily went home to rest for her upcoming work days. She was looking forward to exchanging gifts with the Dilaurentis' and to be able to spend some more time with them. Unfortunately, Emily had to cancel their exchange for the 26th, because Emily was sick and didn't want to pass it on to anyone else. 

She went to work, only because she knew she really had to, otherwise, she would have stayed home. She knew she felt warm this morning, but now she felt like she was on fire. To say she was uncomfortable was an understatement. 

Alison barged into Emily's apartment, worried because the brunette hadn't answered any of her texts, yet again, and she knew that Emily was sick. She found the brunette lying on the sofa, sweating profusely and looking very pale. 

Alison set the bag she brought to help tend to the brunette on the table next to her, immediately wanting to check on Emily to see what the damage was. 

"Ali?" 

"Hey." She replied, placing her lips on the girl's forehead. She could feel how warm she was, actually she was always warm, but now she felt like Emily was way too warm. Alison grabbed the thermometer from the bag and forced it into Emily's mouth. The thermometer read 101.4 degrees and Alison felt herself about to lose control, especially if her fever got any higher. 

"Em, you've got to strip. Do you have any ice packs?" Alison's mind was racing a mile per second, thinking of all the things she needed or she could do to reduce Emily's fever. 

"One." She whispered back, reaching up to run a hand through her soaking wet hair. Alison moved to the kitchen and grabbed the one ice pack Emily had in her freezer, and a small hand towel to wrap around it. 

Emily hadn't moved, so Alison helped her remove her shirt and pants. She sat Emily up for a brief second to put her hair up into a messy bun before laying her back down again. Alison grabbed the ice pack, and lifted the band of Emily's boxers. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" 

"Trust me, I'm just getting your temperature to go down." Alison places the ice pack on Emily's groin, the brunette sucking in a sharp breath and sighing in relief immediately. "Here," she handed Emily three tablets and a water bottle, both of which she pulled from her bag, "take these and keep drinking water." 

Alison moved Emily to sit at the kitchen table so she could pull out the couch for Emily to lay down. Emily needed the garbage can to vomit in, so Alison grabbed that and put it by the bedside as well. Alison herself stripped down and climbed into bed with the brunette. 

Her fever finally broke causing her to shiver almost non stop. Alison knew this would happen, the main reason she stripped and got into bed with Emily, but she also wanted to be close to the brunette; she missed her the past few days. Alison scooted closer to her, wrapping her arms around the brunette and throwing the blanket over the two of them. 

"You're-you're gonna get sick." Emily whispered against Alison's neck. 

"Shhh." If she got sick, Alison didn't really care. She'd rather make sure that Emily was well taken care of than risk not catching some type of bug. "I brought you some soup, do you want me to make it?" She rubbed a few small circles clockwise on Emily's back. 

Alison made sure to keep a water bottle close by too. She debated on whether or not to make the soup for Emily, but when she pressed, Emily told her she wasn't hungry and that she wanted Alison to leave so she wouldn't get sick. In the end, Alison won half the battle. She stayed, making sure that the brunette was okay through the night. 

Emily had woken up a few times during the night to vomit. Alison was a surgeon, and she saw a lot of sick people, but she thought seeing Emily like this was hard. Of course she was still the same Emily, worried about Alison rather than herself, but Alison hated to see Emily vomiting so much and so often along with her spikes in temperature. 

Two days later, Emily was feeling much better. They were finally able to exchange their gifts, Emily giving Alison's parents a painting of the Northern Lights, which Jessica and Kenneth were baffled at how amazing it was, and Alison a painting of the fall colors over a cliff, paired with a new sweatshirt. Emily promised Alison that she would take her to the spot where she got the idea for the painting. 

Alison got Emily a bunch of new clothes, some Nike and some comfortable and more casual clothes. She claimed she got her so much because Emily failed to mention that it was her birthday just days before Thanksgiving, which Emily just replied with, 'I did everything I wanted, I spent my day with you.' 

Alison's parents got Emily a Randall Cobb jersey, something she figured Emily would love, but not as much as she did. 

"Oh sweet! This is awesome! When I go to the Super Bowl I'll have something to wear, thank you!" Jessica and Kenneth laughed at Emily's excitement. Emily hugged both Jessica and Kenneth, she was so excited. 

"You're going to the Super Bowl?" Alison asked. This was the first time Emily had ever mentioned anything about going to the Super Bowl. 

"Been my life dream since I was ten. I told myself if the Packers ever make it, I'm going. So I've been saving ever since and I should have enough now. Don't you have a dream? What's your life dream, babe? Whatever it is, you ought to go for it." 

Alison shrugged at the time, not really knowing what the right answer to that question was for her. She always thought her immediate answer was surgery. Which honestly, it still was. The more she thought about it though, the more she rethought her answer. The more she thought about her life long dream, the more apparent it came. 

She wanted that everlasting happiness. She wanted that badly. And a few nights ago, she realized she actually had it. She wasn't afraid of getting sick and missing work, she wanted Emily to be back to normal. She's had that everlasting happiness since she's been with Emily. She's been able to work her dream job, while having the social life she's always wanted, but was too busy chasing her career dream. 

She knew what her plan was. Surgery was her life, but Emily was her dream. Which one would weigh more on the importance scale for her? Surgery, or Emily? Surgery? Or Emily?


	10. Chapter 10

Emily went back into work, still high off the holidays. Every new year, her resolution was the same; have a higher success rate of solving her cases. Granted, it was a couple weeks in of the new year, but she was still peppy and happy to work. 

She was a little disappointed that Christmas was officially over. It was her favorite holiday, merely because of the feeling she got during this particular holiday. Christmas always made her feel so warm, and uplifted. 

Of course her coworkers were always a little grumpy after coming back from the holidays, but a few joined in on Emily's resolution for the new year. Toby was the main supporter, but a few of his friends also joined in on their little "pact."

She was still feeling sore from their championship game yesterday. Once again they were playing Ravenswood, so James and a few of his teammates were headhunting for the brunette.

"Hey kid, it's gonna be a loooooong night." James snickered, laughing with his teammates. 

If anything, this was her least favorite aspect of the game. The trash talk. Sure, James was a mediocre player, but his game wasn't that good. He was just very physical at the line of scrimmage and when he was going for a ball himself. She knew he was too physical, to the point where he should have been flagged, but that's how lots of people played. 

She waited for the snap of the ball, her head craned towards the ball. She knew James was playing soft coverage against her, but it was a run play anyway. At the snap she took off and engaged in a block. He jabbed his elbow into Emily's side, pushing off her to tackle the ball carrier. 

"Better call something through the air, kid can't block for shit!" 

On second down, Toby called a slant and go for Emily. Emily beat James on the double move, she was at a free run to the end zone. Toby threw the ball, high and a little farther than it needed to be. Emily jumped and the ball skimmed the tips of her fingers, still sailing in the air. Emily just landed on the ground when she was met with a firm shoulder meeting with her side. 

She fell to the turf with a thud. Every muscle in her body throbbed. She could feel someone standing over her, and she could guess pretty easily who it was. She got up gingerly and walked back to the huddle, not even giving James the time of day. 

Now facing a third and long, they were forced to go with another pass. Toby called the play, normally one where Emily didn't get the ball. The tight end ran a post route that was always wide open. Even though she figured she wasn't getting the ball, she still ran her route hard. It was something her dad told her she must do. "Run like you're getting the ball every play, because you never know when you are going to get it," he'd always say. 

Emily was running a crossing route, she had good separation on James. She was surprised to see Toby look off the tight end and throw her the ball. She secured it, tucked it into her chest, and turned up field. She was on a short route, no more than four yards, so she needed a little extra push to get the first down. She stuck her left arm out, stiff arming the man running at her, in an attempt to keep James from tackling her short of the sticks. 

James tackled her, but she had just enough for the first down. 

"Is that little blonde bimbo of yours tiring you out? Man, I'll take her off your hands." 

She was still filled with rage at his comments, but she knew he was just doing it to get under her skin. She got the last laugh, and her only laugh of the night, by beating his team. The chief was going to decide what fund they would donate the year's money intake to. 

Last night Alison was worried about Emily. She saw the amount of hits, and the severity of each one, and knew that she couldn't have been feeling very good. Alison invited Emily over to relax and hopefully get her body to feel better. Emily loved how comfortable Alison's bed and pillows were. Compared to her own, they were like driving a Porsche. 

Alison turned on a movie in her bedroom and forced Emily to lay on her stomach. She sat on Emily's ass and massaged the girl's back while they watched the movie. Admittedly, Alison picked out a movie she knew Emily hated, The Other Woman. Emily said she hated it for the actresses, their acting, and how the producers portrayed the women. 

Emily fell asleep quickly, which is exactly what Alison had wanted to accomplish. She carefully got off the brunette and propped Emily's favorite pillow under her head.

Emily smiled, probably looking like an idiot who was staring out the window at work, but she couldn't help it. She thought about the breakfast and note that Alison left her before she herself headed off to work. Everything had been going very well for the two girls, and Emily couldn't be happier. 

The day was quiet for Emily. She ate her sandwich and got some paper work done. She had time to call Alison, and ask what she was up to tonight. She wanted to treat her girl to a meal. She figured she'd find something to make with whatever ingredients she had in her fridge, but Alison insisted on buying groceries for the night, since she had to run a ton of errands anyway. 

'I'll buy, you cook.' Emily chuckled quietly at her desk at the blonde. Alison was always the one cooking, so Emily really didn't mind taking over the kitchen duty. Usually, she threw some pizza rolls in the microwave and called it a dinner, but that didn't mean she didn't have any skills in the kitchen. 

She was actually pretty good. Her mother and father taught her everything they knew. Mostly her mother taught her, but she had started learning things when she was younger, mostly because Pam was tired of making food every time Emily was hungry. Looking back, Emily totally understood her mother. She asked for something to eat about every half hour. 

Emily was radioed to head to a scene. Finally, she thought, her day was finally filled with some real work. Upon arrival, she saw a couple civilians crowded around the yellow tape holding them from disrupting the scene. 

She showed her badge and walked into the house. It was flooded with people, taking pictures, sifting through mail, and looking around the house. She caught sight of Toby in the living room, talking to the chief. 

"You called Emily?" She could hear him ask. There was something about his voice that made her body feel heavier. Why wasn't she allowed to be here? 

"Cavanaugh, she's the best we have. We need her on the case." 

"She's too close to this!" Now her stomach turned knots. She walked into the living room, being immediately noticed by Toby. His expression said it all, the sadness pouring from his eyes told Emily everything. The chief had it too, not nearly as bad as Toby did, but it was still there. She could still see it.

She turned to see what the bigger fuss in the room was, the room was filled with people taking photographs and analyzing everything in the room. Someone moved, giving her clear view of what was really going on. There it was, her heart sank and shattered all in one go. 

The tussled blonde hair laying on the brown couch. Completely lifeless. She wanted to crumple to the floor, and cry. Why did this happen? Her eye filled with tears, but she had to hold them back. She had to be the one to figure this out. It was the only way she would ever feel okay about it again. 

"It's not a suicide." Her voice cracked ever so slightly, but she knew that the blonde didn't take their own life. She knew better. 

"Emily, there's no other indication-"

The chief started explaining, but Emily knew he was wrong. Everyone in the room who thought the same was wrong. "I'll prove it to you." Emily interrupted, at which she felt bad for, but knew this was for the best. They had to get this right, there was no other option. 

She walked towards the couch, and grabbed a pair of gloves from the box that was on the small coffee table. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt a hand on her back and Toby's voice ask, "are you sure you're okay to do this?" 

"Yes," her voice came out stronger than before, she was mustering up all her courage and shoved her emotions as far down as she could. She could fall apart later, but right now, that wasn't an option. "I have to be." 

She asked the photographer if he had all the pictures he needed, so she could examine the body of the blonde more closely. Her breath caught again and her emotions almost spilled over upon seeing that bullet hole in the left side of the blonde's head. A small .380 caliber pistol rested on the floor. 

The angle looked right of where the gun should've been dropped from the left hand of the blonde. Emily's almost lost it again looking like it was in fact a suicide, but then she noticed something on the neck of the still body. A small circle, a tiny bruise, right at the base of the neck. 

"Here." She said, pointing at the odd circle. "Right here." She stated again, clarifying to the others and herself that it wasn't a suicide. "Run a blood test, see what comes back." 

"You want me to take care of the family?" Toby asked. He knew if the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn't be able to do it, and he knew Emily would do the same for him. 

"No. It would be way too impersonal, and they'd hate me for the rest of time." 

"Emily, they adore you. They would never hate you." 

"Toby, it has to come from me. It has to." 

Emily got in her car and sighed deeply. She knew this was going to be the toughest part. She wanted to fall apart herself, she wanted to sit down and paint something to take her mind off it. She wanted to forget what she saw at that house. But she couldn't. She couldn't, but at least the family wouldn't see it, because then, they would completely lose it. 

She parked the car and sat in the drive way, making sure she had all her emotions in check before she knocked on the door. She knocked three times and took one last deep breath before the door opened. 

"Emily!" She wanted to vomit at how happy she was, knowing how her life would be flipped upside down in a matter of minutes. 

"Mrs. Dilaurentis, may I come in?" 

"Of course honey and what did I tell you, it's Jessica." 

Emily went to the living room and sat on the couch. She wrung her hands together nervously waiting for both Mr. and Mrs. Dilaurentis to join her in the room. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Dilaurentis, I'm so sorry." 

She explained everything she could to them. Of course like she predicted, they both lost it. Emily assured them that she would stop at nothing to find who did this to their family. She felt like she was barely going to make it home, yet when she got up to leave the room she really felt like she was about to fall apart. 

Her blonde, her girl, had been standing in the entry way the entire time. Her beautiful blonde was staring at her with wide, puffy, red eyes that had fresh tears falling. 

"Ali." Emily whispered, feeling a tear slip down her cheek. Once she saw Alison in the state she was, she couldn't stop her emotions from rising. "I'm sorry, I know-"

"No Emily, you don't know." Alison seethed, she was angry, very angry. Her body was hot, but her tears still fell like a river. "You have no idea what we're feeling. You don't know what it's like to lose your brother." 

"I'm sorry baby, please, I'm going to do everything I can. I'm going to find out who did this." Emily pleaded, reaching out to grab Alison's hands only to have them yanked away from her grasp. 

"Bullshit Emily. You can't even do your job! You can't keep us safe, you couldn't keep me safe Emily!" 

"Ali, I-" 

"Save it Emily! Get out of my house!" 

"Baby, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you."

"Get out!" Emily put her head down and walked out without another word. As soon as she got into her cruiser her cry had turned into a full blown sob. How did they get here? 

"God, our kids are going to hate us." Emily said jokingly while looking up at the ceiling. 

Alison looked at Emily, wondering if she was hearing right. Yes, she figured, her kids would definitely hate them. They were loud, well she was loud, but that was Emily's fault. 

"Our kids?" Alison asked, using the same playful manner that Emily had just used. 

"I'm going to marry you." Emily turned to look in those perfect blue eyes. "I'm going to marry you and we will have a kid, maybe two. Whatever you want." Emily leaned in to capture Alison's perfect lips. Emily couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with Alison, through the good and the bad, and she figured the blonde ought to know. Why not now, after an amazingly intimate moment? 

Emily just hoped that the two would still be destined to be together. She hoped that Alison would come around. A part of her knew that she would, but there was also the uncertainty of it all. Her brother died for crying out loud, nothing was guaranteed during this time. She had to hold onto that hope, otherwise, she wouldn't make it another day wondering if she'd ever get her girl back.


	11. Chapter 11

Two weeks. It was a long two weeks without the presence of her brother and her brunette. The first week she hated the brunette, actually, she just wanted to hate someone and Emily was the easiest. She knew that it was wrong, but every time she thought about, well, everything Emily was some how relevant to the topic. 

Alison stayed at her parents house, today she was going to go back home. She wanted to stay away from her own home, solely because she believed Emily would try and visit her. 

This second week though, Alison slept in Emily's sweatshirt she gave her from the night they first kissed. She hugged it tighter against her every night, wishing that it was Emily holding her, as she cried. Emily hadn't called, hadn't texted, or hadn't visited. Alison thought that Emily would have fought harder, or wouldn't have given in so easily, but she was absent from her life the past two weeks; well, sort of. 

"You want me to put that in the wash?" Her mother pointed to Emily's sweatshirt that hung loosely off her body. "Is that Jason's?" 

Alison looked down and pulled at the pocket of the hoodie, extending it so she could look at the faded Nike lettering on the front. She got the tiniest whiff of Emily. "No, it's uh, it's actually Emily's." 

"Alison," her mother sighed, reaching out to grab Alison's hand, "you need to talk to her. She's done nothing wrong, she's helping our family, actually." 

"Mom," Alison huffed, "we had one little argument and ever since she's been MIA. She wasn't even at the funeral!" It was the least Emily could do, yet she failed to fulfill the standard Alison set for her. 

"Oh honey, she was there." Her mother smiled warmly at the blonde. "She borrowed one of your fathers suits, she was there. She's been texting me just about everyday to check on you."

Alison knew she needed to talk to Emily. They both had to have a talk. Today, after work, she decided she would head to Emily's apartment and have a talk with her. 

"Toby, I've got an idea." Emily shot out of the conference room and over to Toby's desk. 

Toby, and the chief, made sure Emily was well protected. She was only allowed to go through with her plan on a few conditions. Toby would be parked two blocks away and be in her ear, listening and communicating with Emily via a microchip in her ear. She was to wear a bullet proof vest underneath her uniform, and she herself insisted on wearing a wire: just for the precaution that something happened to her, then they'd still have evidence. 

Emily got out of her truck, making sure that her pistol was loaded and off of safety before knocking on the door. "Hi, Mr. Swanson, can I come in?" She smiled at him. She could see the flicker in his eyes, it was only there for a spilt second, but she could tell he was waiting for someone on the task force. "I was just on my way home and I've been checking in on all of Jason's friends, I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop by sooner." 

"Oh," he smiled lightly and opened the door further for her "come in." Emily sat herself on the couch, getting a glimpse at the older man's apartment. "You want a beer?" 

"No, I'm good but thank you." He nodded, and disappeared in the kitchen. She assumed he was looking out his windows, just to make sure there wasn't multiple police cars outside. In fact, there wasn't a single one. 

Emily smiled to herself, thinking this could be the "big break." Him getting a beer. She also had a flash of fear. He could just walk back into the living room and without her even seeing it coming, bam. She saw the gun in the waistband of his jeans. When he reached to close the door, his sweatshirt rode up and she could see the butt of the gun. 

"Are you guys getting anywhere?" He asked after making small talk for about twenty minutes.

"Tell the truth." Toby rang out in her ears. She wasn't really stoked about having Toby in her ear, because she wasn't going to listen to him. She had her own tactic, and it was going to work. 

"No, not really. It's frustrating, but everywhere we look, nothing comes up." 

"That's a real bummer." He took a sip of his beer and then rolled his finger around the lip of the bottle. "I know it's been hard on Jessica and Kenneth." 

"And you." Emily chimed. "How are you doing?" 

"Why do you even care?" She had him where she wanted him. He was bitter, maybe remorseful, maybe feeling guilty, but Emily could see she had him. 

"It's been hard on me," Emily started, hopefully thinking that her blabbing would pull the trigger for his emotions, "his sister, Alison, is my girlfriend and Jason made me make some promises about his sister. So it's been hard to be around her, or her parents for the past few weeks." 

"Are you sure she's your girlfriend? I've been watching them and you haven't been around her for two weeks." As soon as it slipped his mouth, his eyes went wide. They sat in silence, while Toby started speaking to Emily. "Great job Fields. You've got him." And Toby was right, she had him. But first, she had to play the part, in order to get him to confess. 

"How do you know?" Their eyes locked on each other and the silence remained. The tension in the room thickened, Toby's voice was filling her ear yet again, but she zoned him out. This was more important. This, right here, was everything. 

He stood, turning his back toward Emily. She knew exactly what he was doing, so she did the same. He turned around, both of them with their guns pointed at one another. "Put it down!" She yelled, but he wouldn't budge. 

"I'm getting away with this!" "Emily, be smart."

She laughed darkly at his statement. "You shoot me and you're doing more time. Put the gun down, and do the time for one murder, not two." 

"You can't even prove that I did it! I was-"

"You and Jason used to drink Malarkey's beer. Everyone Jason knew hated it, besides you. He told me. He bought a six pack, twenty minutes before his time of death. Two bottles were missing, one was his, the other was buried in the trash. A swab will confirm it was your bottle. You basically gave it away when you grabbed the beer." She interrupted, rifling off the evidence, keeping her gaze strong and her finger in the trigger. "Emily, I'm on my way. Just hold him off." 

"And the blood spatter on the wall didn't match up, it was completely nonexistent. Even though you're right handed, you remembered to shoot left. It was covered by your arm. But, you didn't clean your sweatshirt enough. The top left should has some blood on it, I saw that as soon as you opened the door." 

"You bitch! If you die, there's no proof." His hand gripped the gun tighter. She was ready to shoot, as was he. 

"That's why I'm wearing a wire." That was his final straw of emotions. He had lost, she saw it in his eyes; the anger. She knew she needed to shoot before he shot her. 

Two shots went off. They were so close in succession that it almost sounded like one. "Emily!" Toby frantically yelled. He sped faster, and dialed for an ambulance. He could hear Mr. Swanson crying out in pain, but nothing from Emily yet. The loud thud he heard after the shots went off, worried him to say the least. "Emily, I'm calling Alison!"

"Toby." She croaked. The entire left side of her torso burned. "I'm okay. Don't," she coughed and reached to her upper chest. Her fingers were coated in a little blood. "call Ali." She looked down, the bullet caught part of the vest causing it to be dislodged into her skin. Falling back on to her shoulder surely didn't help her pain. 

Minutes later, she felt a pair of hands covering her wound while she was placed on a gurney and she could hear Toby's voice getting closer to her. "Toby." She croaked again. His hand gripped tightly onto her own as his blue eyes met with hers. They weren't as beautiful and complex as Alison's, but they were definitely a sight. 

"You got him." He whispered, "you're going to be fine." 

"Make sure Spencer is the one to see me. Take Ali and get my truck and bring her home. Let me tell the parents. Get me a new shirt from my apartment, and let me tell them, please Toby." She pleaded. Her mind quickly flashed that she didn't want Toby to see what the inside of her apartment looked like, but she honestly didn't care. She needed it to happen so she could keep her promise to the DiLaurentis's. 

"I wouldn't dream of not letting you kid." He patter Emily's arm and directed someone to take his cruiser to the hospital. He gripped her hand the entire way, he freaked out when Emily lost consciousness, but it was explained that it was only due to the pain. 

"Spencer," Alison opened the door to the private room. She had asked one of the nurses where Spencer was, there was a patient in the emergency room with fluid around their heart and wanted to see if Spencer could take the patient since she was clocked out and leaving with Toby. "Could you go," she stopped when she saw who Spencer was treating. 

"She's alright, she's been in and out due to the pain." Spencer could see the worry written on Ali's face when she laid eyes upon the unconscious brunette. The blonde basically ran over to her girlfriend and gripped her right hand tightly, silently begging that it would force Emily's eyes open. The backs of her fingers grazed against Emily's cheek. 

"She's okay?" She looked to Spencer, needing the extra assurance from her friend. 

"She'll be just fine. Go with Toby, she'll meet you at your parents house." Spencer ordered, as she pulled the bullet out from Emily. 

"You're the only one I trust to do this." Alison whispered to Spencer. She kissed Emily, letting her hands linger on her face a little longer while she took in every detail of the tan brunette. 

"I've got her. Now go, so she can take care of you and your family in a while." Alison kissed Emily again, reluctantly leaving the room. On her way out, she told a nurse to find someone else for the ER patient. The whole time she was with Toby and then sitting around the fireplace with her parents, she was thinking about Emily, waiting for the brunette to meet her here.

An hour later when there was a knock at the door, Alison jumped and ran to the door. She opened it, well threw it open, to reveal Emily standing there. Her left arm was inside her shirt, tucked away protectively in a sling. Before Alison could say anything, her parents appeared behind her. "Oh, Emily. It's great to see you." 

They sat down near the fireplace, of course asking Emily what happened to her arm. "I got him. We got him." Emily smiled, and saw the tears roll down all three family member's face. "David Swanson, it was one of Jason's friends." 

"David's Swanson? Are you sure? He didn't have a friend named-"

"His street name was Uncle Dave." Jessica cried harder, knowing that she was face to face with Jason's killer. Emily stayed until she knew that all three were okay. Jessica and Ken hugged and thanked her for giving their family closure. 

"Emily, can we talk? We need to talk." Alison asked before Emily could slip out the door. She gulped hard, her nerves piling on top of each other and she felt like a giant black hole had formed in her stomach. 

"I have to go to back to the station to give a statement. I'll be like ten minutes, you can head over to my apartment and wait for me?" She handed Alison her key and left. She cringed at herself, this is exactly why people classified her as so weird and odd. Why couldn't she just ask Alison to meet her there? What if she never showed up, so she'd be locked out? 

Fortunately, that wasn't the problem. She walked in and found Alison admiring her paintings laying in the room. "I know they're not as good. They're darker than usual, but I...I don't really know. I guess everything just took a bigger hit than I expected." 

Alison jumped slightly at Emily's voice, but she kept her back to the girl speaking to her. Her eyes were locked on to a specific painting. It was a fish, in dark waters, being gnawed on by a shark. The blood and intense detail showed just how dark Emily thought they were. "You didn't even know Jason, how did he affect you this much?" 

"That's untrue." Emily replied without missing a beat. She thought that Jason would've mentioned their conversations, but apparently he didn't. She gained more respect for him. "He told me a lot of things. Mostly about life, but he taught me a couple things too. He told me you'd get clingy, angry, emotional. He told me to give you space when you needed it. He told me to take care of you. I promised him." 

"Emily." Alison breathed, she turned to Emily, her face fresh with tears. "You know how you said we would figure it out, for our relationship? I already decided for us. I-"

"Look, I get it. You don't have to spare me any fluffiness in order to let me down easy." 

"Emily, I-"

Alison tried to interrupt, but Emily wasn't having any of it. "Let me talk. Let me say this, please." Emily took a deep breath and continued. "I get it. I'm weird, I see the way people look at you when we're out, like they feel sorry for you just because I'm different from them. I know that I can't give you everything, and it kills me. I'm sorry," tears dripped from her eyes freely, Alison wanted to break at the anytime the brunette let tears fall, "I'm sorry I couldn't take you on the dates you deserve. You deserve better, but I'm going to be selfish. Don't leave. Don't leave me, please. I don't have money to flaunt you around, but I hope that I made up for it in thought, and pure love for you. I love you, I really do. But I want you to do what's best for you. If that means you leave...I'll be okay. If you're happy, I'm happy." 

"Emily." Alison sighed again, wiping her tears and stepping closer to the brunette so she could wipe hers as well. "I'm staying." She choked out through a sob. Alison knew this was the best place to be, they would both be unbelievably happy, together, in Rosewood. 

"I'm sorry, Emily. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was just mad at the world and I took it out on you. It was unfair. I needed you, as much as you wanted to be here for me, but thank you for being here now." 

"I'll always be there for you, Ali. Always."

Alison leaned in to kiss Emily, their hands actively roaming one another. She could feel Emily tense underneath her, but Emily's hands still wandered. Alison grabbed Emily's hips and pulled her flush against her own body. Emily let out a quick and painful grunt, but connected their lips again in a sloppy fight. "Em." Emily melted, hearing Alison use her nickname was a weakness, but her tone meant she was worried. "Did Spencer give you pain medicine?" 

"Yes." Emily responded breathlessly. She leaned in to reconnect their lips, but winced. The numbness in her left side had dissipated about half an hour ago, and she really wanted to take medicine, but she knew she needed to talk to Alison before she could take it and pass out. 

Alison guided Emily to the living room. She ordered Emily to take her medicine and Alison pulled out the couch so Emily could lay down. Alison later down, and waited for Emily to come from the bathroom after changing, to lay with her. Emily crawled on top of Alison, laying on her stomach, her head rested on Alison's chest, her right arm holding Alison's side, her left perfectly plopped on to the pillow, and over half her body on Alison's. She missed the blonde over the last two weeks, deeply. 

"I love you." Emily mumbled, barely audible. The pain killers kicked in quickly, and Alison was helping to guide Emily into a deep slumber. Her hands were continuously running through Emily's hair. 

"I love you too." Alison smiled, thinking how terrible but yet how great today was at the same time. If her days ended like this, every day would be a good one to her.


	12. Chapter 12

Emily woke up the next morning very early. She never rolled over to check the time, but the sky was still dark. Her shoulder was on fire, probably heightened due to the fact that both her and Alison had shifted during the night. She sat, debating on whether or not to wake Ali up. She lay awake trying to think of anything but the incessant pain shooting through her body.

Alison woke up from her sleep, feeling an immense heat next to her. She turned over to realize that it was Emily. It was normal for Emily to be warm but she could see Emily sweating. Her hand brushed Emily's cheek getting a mixture of warmth and sweat. Emily's head slowly turned towards her, and their eyes met. Alison could see the pain in Emily's eyes. Her eyes gave everything away. 

"H-hey." Emily stuttered out, her voice hoarse. Alison loved Emily's silky voice, but her groggy, husk filled voice was her favorite. The way it did things to her...damn. If things weren't the way they were right now, she would act upon her temptations. 

"Let me get your medicine and then I need to check out your stitches okay?" 

She came back with a glass of water and one of Emily's tablets. Alison moved Emily's sports bra strap to the side and started to peel off the bandage from last night. "Why didn't you wake me?" She asked, trying to calm her self a bit, but she was also a little mad that Emily hadn't. She was worried that Emily had developed an infection. She sighed happily, luckily she had not. 

"You need sleep, you have to work." Emily whispered again, still trying to push the pain out of her mind. Emily had been given a month off by the chief. She heavily protested, but he wanted her to rest up and get back to one hundred percent. He also said it was a little gift for working so hard. 

"I don't care Em, you need to let me know." She scolded her a bit but then teased, "I'm on midnight tonight, so you're stuck with me until after dinner." She kissed Emily's cheeks and then pressed a delicate kiss to her lips. "I'll get you a cold washcloth and we're going to let your stitches get a little air, okay?" 

"Better?" Ali questioned wiping down Emily's face and neck with the cold washcloth. Emily smiled, nodding to Alison. 

"It's not the same, but with my dad, I know what you're feeling. I promise I'm always here for you. I promise I'll always protect you." Her speech slurred. Her brain was fighting its self to get the words out, even though she could feel her brain start to get fuzzy. 

Alison settled herself into Emily's side, feeling the tears fall. She really should've apologized to Emily sooner because, damn, Emily was like a hidden treasure and basically she just ignored the entire worth of her. But, Alison knew it. She knew it. Emily made her feel like she was a damn celebrity and the only person in Emily's life; which was actually half true. 

"I love you so much Em." Her nails trailed along every nook and cranny of the brunettes stomach. She really couldn't believe how much Emily had actually changed in her life. She felt so relieved and almost guilty, that she accepted Emily in her life. For putting off her love life for so long, how did she end up so fortunate to end up with Emily?

"Hmm." Emily hummed, she looked down at Ali. Her soft fingers brushed over Alison's facial features, just like a child would do, "you're so pretty." Alison giggled at Emily, she thought Emily was adorable and she wouldn't get tired of Emily being drugged up like this.

"You're cute babe." Alison kissed the side of Emily's neck, which had definitely cooled down from this morning. 

"Did you know the sunset on Mars is blue? Did you know that everyone's tongue is unique like a fingerprint?" 

Alison chuckled at Emily, her voice raising in excitement. "Alright Em, go to sleep now." 

"Did you know that there's more than one hundred billion stars in the Milky Way. You are my Milky Way." 

"You're mine too." 

Alison smiled and shifted to kiss Emily again, she couldn't get her hands, well lips, off of Emily. It hadn't really settled in for Alison that Emily, too, could've died at the hands of Jason's best friend, and now she wanted to cling to the brunette for dear life. She was scared, there was no doubt about that, when she saw Emily with a bullet in her chest, unresponsive. But she also knew Spencer could fix her, Spencer could fix anyone, or at least Alison trusted Spencer to. She would've lost two of the most important people in her life in less than a month, all at the hands of the same man.

Alison startled awake from a phone going off. She reached over Emily's body to grab the device and brought it to her ear to answer it. "Hello?" 

"Alison? Good morning." She heard Pam's voice cheerily ring out. She immediately shot up in bed, great, she answered Emily's phone on accident. 

"Oh hi Pam. How are you doing?" 

"I'm suppose to be asking you that." Pam laughed, making Alison smile. "I just wanted to check in on Emily." 

"Oh, yeah. She's doing good, a little rough this morning, but she's sleeping right now. Would you like me to wake her up?" Alison ran her hands through Emily's hair while she talked to Pam. 

"Oh no, she gets cranky sometimes. I imagine she needs her rest." 

"Yeah, I've seen it happen before." Alison mumbled, Pam laughing and Alison joining in with her. One morning when Alison was getting up to go to work, Emily grumbled and threw the pillow at Alison. Emily of course was worried that Alison would be mad, but Alison found it funny and cute. 

"Alright kiddo, have Em call me sometime."

"I will."

"Talk to you soon, love ya, have a good day at work." 

"Bye Pam." Alison smiled. Pam was so nice, just like Emily. Alison hadn't talked to either of Emily parents for a while, but she really liked both of them. 

Alison got out of bed, carefully, wanting to make some breakfast for the two. Emily groaned at the loss of Alison's presence. Alison dug around Emily's small kitchen for something to make. She settled on French toast for the two, she made it a point to get Emily some groceries before she went to work, that way she could make them a proper meal.

An arm wrapped around her midsection, fully startling the girl. She had not expected Emily to wake up just yet. A few small, and precious kisses were strategically placed on her cheek, neck, and shoulder. "Good morning."

"Mmm." Emily kissed the corner of her lips. "Good morning."

After a quick breakfast, Alison headed to the grocery store. Emily sat down at the desk, looking over some requests she had for paintings. She was trying to decide what she would continue with next, and how quickly she could get it done. Since the investigation, she's been behind on her painting work, so she wanted to use this time off to catch up, and, get ahead. 

Alison came back from the store, nearly an hour later. She stocked Emily up on some real food, things like chicken, and food Emily liked, pizza rolls, frozen pizzas, and Cheetos. She peeked her head in "the painting room" and saw Emily focused on her piece. Alison watched, completely mesmerized, Emily's brush moved so elegantly, quickly, but in so much detail along the canvas. 

The way Emily was able to paint was unreal to Alison. She tried to even draw something simple, like a car, and it ended up looking like a chicken nugget. Meanwhile, Emily was painting an entire gala of cars, and they were so detailed, it looked like a damn picture.

For Emily, it was just a task to do while she was a kid and annoying her mother. It really calmed her down, but she found that she'd rather paint than play with toys, besides a football. It came to the point where if she wasn't outside playing catch with her mom or dad, she was locked away in her own world, her room, painting the day away. 

Sure she was making money off of it, not that it was raking in a gold mine, like a small loan of a million dollars, but she loved painting. She preferred to stay in, instead of going out with a bunch of people. Which many people that Emily knew thought was extremely weird and that there was even something wrong with her. 

"Seriously Emily," the dark haired girl begged, "will you please come out with my friends and I?" Emily sat with her back turned, still working on the piece in front of her. 

"I'm busy Steph." Emily replied, picking up a bottle and squirting it onto her plate. 

"God!" Stephanie huffed, hastily grabbing her purse and heading for the door. "Can you not be so fucking weird for one day?" 

When the door slammed closed that day, that ended her last relationship. Which really, she didn't mind. If someone didn't respect her wishes, then she honestly didn't really care. Emily felt lucky, herself, to find someone like Ali who had really accepted her in all areas. Who never made fun of her. And really, who was in this, the relationship, as much as she was.

Emily put her brush down, and headed out to the living room. Alison said she had to run some errands, but figured she would be back already. She was in fact, the blonde was laying on the bed, looking at her phone. 

Emily jumped on the bed, crawling on top of Alison, straddling the girl's waist, and pushed her phone out of her hands. Alison looked up at Emily shocked, but didn't have time to say anything as Emily leaned down to kiss her. Emily pushed further, practically devouring Alison's mouth. Emily pushed her hips down into Alison, moaning at the friction she caused. Every time Emily ground her hips into Alison, they both let out a moan filled with pleasure and desire. 

Alison's head was spinning. One moment Emily wasn't even in the room, and now she was frantically trying to pull of her shirt with one hand. The feeling of Emily hot tongue running along the naps of her neck was enough to send a wave of heat, right to her core. Alison aided Emily, taking off her shirt herself, suddenly feeling too hot for the material. Emily's lips feverishly attacked her bare chest: leaving a hot trail of wet kisses in her wake. Alison hands roamed, landing down to Emily's arousal, moaning at the feeling of her. 

Emily's nimble fingers popped her bra off and quickly flew down to the girl's pants. Her hand dove into Alison's jeans, going straight for her target. Her fingers teasingly traced along Alison's most sensitive area. Alison moaned loudly, Emily fingers were magical. Emily got a little antsy, she tried to take the blonde's pants off with both hands. She yelped, but continued to tease the blonde underneath her. 

"Em." Alison was barely able to mumble out. She didn't want to stop, ever since this morning she'd been yearning for Emily's touch. But she didn't want Emily to push herself, and make her recovery time any more painful or take any longer. "Emily." 

Emily pouted, but knew Alison was right to stop her from taking the reigns today. She was an idiot to even try and move her arm, even though it was still in a sling to prevent her from not moving it, she got way too excited. She missed Alison, and she needed Alison. So what was wrong with letting Alison take control for one day?

Alison went into work feeling...conflicted; pretty much about everything. She wanted to stay, and make sure that Emily was okay, but she knew that Emily would probably be fine and she really did need to go to work. She loved their moment before dinner, but she liked Emily in control, in that department, not herself. 

But what was more unsettling to her was the fact that Emily was super quiet today. It was as bad as it was the first time they had met. Emily said about three words to her at breakfast, and then after their little cardio session, Emily fell asleep. Again. 

"Alison, she needs to rest. She's barely slept the past two weeks, and not to mention, she just got shot yesterday. Relax." 

Just relax. Spencer was right, and Alison was thinking about it all too much. But she still felt like Emily was...off. Spencer had declined it again, saying, 'Alison. She's tired.' Her best friend was probably sick of Alison talking about it, but she couldn't shake the feeling she had. 

Alison's night had went by very fast. She was very busy. A bus with dozens of passengers crashed, so she had to deal with that on top of her usual duties of a few surgeries and then some post operative care. It was an exhausting night for her, she had to rearrange her surgeries, pushing her non urgent ones to tomorrow morning for someone else to handle while she operated people from the bus trauma who were urgent. 

Alison was happy, and maybe a little fortunate, that she was able to save most of her patients tonight, but that made her losses even harder for her. She always felt like there was something more she could have done, when in reality she had done everything she could. It was nights like these, where she had tough nights and heartbreaking losses, where she wishes she could just sit in the stands and watch Emily play football, or sit at home and watch a movie, or even visit with her parents. 

She had taken a liking to watch Emily play football. It was similar to that of watching the brunette paint. She was so acrobatic and such a dynamic player, that it was mesmerizing to watch her climb the invisible ladder to catch a ball. It was just as eye appealing for the blonde to watch Emily paint. She wished she could do that now, watch Emily play football or paint, but she would honestly settle for being in the same room as Emily, instead of talking to the family of a patient she lost tonight. 

It was her least favorite part of the job, by far. People were taken here for the best doctors available to fix them. Except they didn't do that, they couldn't do that. But it was also this reason why Alison loved her job. It motivated her. She wanted to invent new things or adapt ideas into her own so that herself, and other doctors could save more lives. 

Alison walk back into Emily's apartment closing and locking the door behind her. She flung her keys on the small kitchen table and sleepily climbed back into the bed with Emily, who happened to be wide awake and waiting for Alison to come home. 

"Hey." Emily whispered feeling Alison shift to get close to her. Alison closed her eyes and kissed Emily's neck. She felt like she could barely stay awake and she had zero energy left from all of today's events. 

"Did you take your medicine?" Alison's thumb gently swiped along the skin underneath the fresh wound. 

"Yeah. I um," Emily nervously ran a hand through her hair and scratched the back of her neck, "this is going to sound really stupid. You don't have to like give me an answer or anything, but I just feel like you need to-" Emily rambled on, very nervously, before Alison stopped her. 

"What's up?" Alison asked as cheerful as she could. Emily's nervous rambling was cute, but she was nervous herself of what was to come from Emily's mouth. 

"Well, I would like to live together. But I can't ask you to move in with me; because why the hell would you downgrade from a house and into a place like this? But..whenever you're ready, you can ask me. I just," Emily sighed heavily, feeling like she needed to backtrack from what she just said. She sounded exactly like one of those people who invite themselves to everything that nobody wanted them at, and she hated it. 

"I felt like you should know that I'm ready. I'm ready to take that step with you. But I want you to make sure you are one thousand percent ready. So don't feel like you need to ask because I said it. Ask when you are completely ready, okay?" Emily's heart hammered against her rib cage. She felt like it could break a couple ribs because her heart was beating so fast. 

"Okay." Alison replied, not exactly knowing what else to say. This is exactly what she was feeling. And it wasn't bad..that Emily was ready. But was Alison? Was she actually ready to do this? Because moving in together would make everything...real. Their problems would be placed on each other, her clingy ways, her obsessive cleanliness, and not to mention Emily's own problems, that Alison didn't even know the extent of. 

Emily would make her entire world flip upside down. She would want to go home, and be home with Emily more than she'd want to be at work. And that honestly really scared the shit out of Alison; how much power Emily really had over her. Sometimes she felt like Emily sat there with a piece of cake, dangling in front of her. Alison was finally in grasp of the piece of cake, but would Emily rip it from her? She needed to talk with Spencer, but she already knew the answer. Deep down, she already knew the answer. She just needed to know that she was making the right choice.


	13. Chapter 13

Emily felt extremely nervous, about really everything. She called her mother, and she decided that they, her mom and dad, were going to come visit. Pam wanted to give Alison a break, specifically because Pam knew that Emily could be a handful, especially when she was on some heavy medications. She was worried that she'd say something embarrassing to her parents about Ali or just something stupid in general.

She really thought that Alison would've said yes, about them living together-well, Alison would've asked Emily to move in with her. She thought that Alison was ready for it too. It hurt her a bit, feeling like she was the only one really committed to this relationship, but Alison loved her. She had to, right?

Pam and Wayne wanted to take the two of them out for dinner tomorrow night. Emily was the most nervous about that. Would something be brought up about hers and Alison's relationship, and thus making it awkward?

She slept most of the day again, her medication really took the energy out of her. Really, she just hoped that she would be able to get through the dinner with her parents, with out experiencing too much pain. Since talking to her mom last night, she had taken her arm out of the sling. She didn't want her mom or dad to overreact, because they always did when it came to Emily. In the process, she had hurt her shoulder more, and now it felt even worse than the first day.

Alison of course scolded her, mostly for not listening to the doctors: Spencer and herself. She knew it was stupid of her to try and move her shoulder already. It's only been a few days since she had the bullet removed, now her shoulder hurt worse than when she had it removed. And that hurt like a real bitch.

"Fuck! Wait, wait!" Emily cried, she held back the tears as best she could. Her free hand gripped onto the railing of the bed, hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

"I'm sorry Em. The shot only does so much. I can give you something stronger, but you said you don't want it."

Spencer always felt bad for her patients, but this one hurt more. It was Emily. Her best friend's girlfriend. If something were to happen to Emily, Alison would never forgive her. And really, Spencer didn't want to see Emily in more pain than she needed to be.

She hated seeing how much pain Emily was in now. But Spencer also knew that once she got the bullet out, when she stopped digging around in Emily's chest with tools and she stitched her up, then Emily would finally feel the full effects of the numbing shot.

Emily and Alison were getting ready for dinner with Emily's parents. Emily's been on edge, for a number of reasons today since Alison got home from work. Her pain, was the main cause. Alison was taking forever, in Emily's opinion, to find something to wear; she was just stressing out. Now, the pair were definitely going to be late.

"Sorry we're late." Emily snuck behind her mom and dad, who were waiting outside the steakhouse. Pam turned and pulled Emily into a bone crushing hug. "Mom." Emily winced; even the slightest touch to her shoulder killed. She should've just worn the damn sling.

Pam let go, and let Emily give her father a hug. Emily's really been missing her parents lately, but the feeling has washed over a bit due to Alison's parents being so caring for her. Alison greeted and hugged both of Emily's parents before they headed into the restaurant.

"So, how has Emily been, too much trouble? Everything okay?" Pam asked Alison as the two walked through the main entrance to the mall. Pam and Alison decided to go to the mall together, while Wayne and Emily went back to the hotel room to watch some football, mainly so Emily could take her medication.

"No, she's been good. Been the same Emily I met on day one." Alison smiled at Pam as they were both looking through some clothes.

"I know she's really quiet a lot. Most of the time when she paints though, it's because she's got a lot of energy. You can try and get her to do something outdoorsy instead, she'd probably love to do it instead of paint. If you need someone to talk Emily, you can always give Wayne and I a call." 

"Ah," Alison said pulling out a teal colored shirt she liked "that's helpful. Usually I just watch her paint." Alison chuckled and flung the shirt over her arm, deciding that she would buy it. It would be nice to not have to resort to Spencer to try and speak Emily code, plus then she would be able to talk to Pam more often; she really liked Pam.

"You know, I've always been kind of worried about her." Pam chuckled, but it was something Alison definitely knew. Emily's told her numerous times how much of a worrier Pam was. "She's been through a lot. More than most kids should. So to see her go through, what she went through during her teenage years-"

Pam started tearing up, and Alison was curious as to what really happened to Emily, because Emily hasn't told her anything about it. "I'm just really happy that she has you." Pam wrapped Alison in a hug. She could feel Pam's tears, and she was ecstatic that Pam and Wayne seemed to like her, but she was confused. Emily never talked about her growing up like she hated it. Emily never resented anything that happened to her.

Emily hooked her good arm under Wayne's legs and he hooked his arms around Emily's neck. Emily gently set him down on the bed, her dad turning on the football game, while Emily downed some water along with her pill.

She felt the need to take it before Alison even got home, but they completely knock her out for hours on end, and then her mother's plans would've been ruined.

"Is everything good?" Wayne asked, watching Emily snuggle into his left side.

"Yeah, everything's been good. Alison, work, everything really."

"Good." He leaned down to kiss the top of Emily's head and carefully squeezed her side. "I've missed you Emmy."

"I missed you too dad." Emily and her dad had a very good relationship. She loved her mother dearly, but her dad always had just a sliver more of her heart.

Wayne always took Emily to her practices and games, and was more invested and had more knowledge for the sport Emily loved compared to Pam. He'd taught her everything her knew. How to play sports, how to take care of cars, how to take care of women, how to be a great officer, how to cook. Her mother taught her a lot as well, she had given Emily tips on stuff her father had already taught her along with her own talents, such as cooking; Wayne cooked a mean steak, but that's basically all he knew.

Ever since she was young, Wayne and Emily had a special bond. Pam, along with with the rest of their family, knew that the father and daughter were so close. Pam loved it, she thought it was absolutely heartwarming. Anytime someone picked on Emily at school, Wayne was there. Anytime Emily cried over her first girlfriend, Wayne was right there. He always understood Emily the best.

"Emmy, you've got to leave that girl in the dust. You've let this cheating gone on long enough." Wayne rubbed a crying Emily's shoulder in attempt to get her to calm down.

"But-but dad, I'm scared. What if Nicole is the only one for me?"

"Listen, a girl will come along, and she'll be worth everything. Don't settle for someone who isn't right for you."

"Hey honey." Pam and Alison entered the hotel room with numerous shopping bags hanging off each of their arms. Pam walked over to Wayne's side of the bed to give him a kiss, and then stroked Emily's hair, who had her head on his chest. "What'd you two do?"

"Talked, watched football, and sleep." Wayne chuckled, and pulled Pam in for another quick kiss.

"When do you work tomorrow?" Pam asked Alison.

"I'm on nights for the next few days. I have to head in for seven."

"So we'll see you tomorrow before you head off." Pam smiled and set her purse down. "I'll wake her."

"I got it." Alison smiled and shook Emily lightly. "Em, come on let's go home."

Emily grumbled, but only rolled over onto her back, shutting out the laughter of the three people trying to wake her up. "Emily." Alison said louder, and shook the brunette harder.

Emily's eyes slowly opened and focused on Alison. "Stop it. The unicorns are fighting a bear." Her eyes closed again, trying to force herself back to sleep. Again, everyone laughed, this time a little louder than before, but yet Emily still seemed unfazed.

"Let's go home babe." Alison shook her again, along with the help of Pam and Wayne, both telling Emily to get up.

"Why do you hate me?" Emily retorted coldly, the poor girl just wanted to watch the unicorns, what was more important than unicorns?

"It's the complete opposite actually." Alison chuckled and reached for Emily's right hand, pulling her to sit and swing her legs off the bed.

"Can we go get some pizza?" Emily whined, and failed miserably at putting her jacket and hat back on. Pam helped Emily slide her right arm in the jacket, but left her left arm slack inside the jacket, when Emily tried to bite her hands when she touched her left arm.

"Em, we just ate like two hours ago." Pam reasoned, slipping the Nike beanie on Emily's head that she bought for her last year.

"Pleaseeeeeee baby." She turned to Alison, effectively using her puppy dog pout even though she was so out of it.

Alison giggled at how cute Emily was. She dug in her pocket, and gripped onto the item. "Only if..." she pulled her hand out of her pocket and presented the item to Emily, "you move in with me."

Of course Pam lost it over the moment, and Wayne had a big smile on his face. Emily on the other hand, was so out of it she had no idea what was even going on. She took the key, and admired it before looking back up at Alison. "Is this for unlimited pizza?" Emily yelled, excitedly, smiling widely at Alison.

Emily woke the next morning in a complete daze. She had no idea how she ended up back home. The light filtering in the room shone on an empty pizza box, and an odd key. Her head still felt fuzzy, the faint voices she heard in the small kitchen area were muffled.

"Yeah, I'll have more normal shifts starting next month." She swore she heard Alison say.

Her hair was thrown in a messy bun, and at the moment, her shoulder didn't hurt terribly. She carefully pulled on her Nike joggers, trying not to disrupt her shoulder to keep her pain today at the bare minimum. She grabbed the shirt laying on the floor, and headed in the kitchen to find Ali for some help.

"Ali?" She really felt as though she were dreaming. The ways the lights filtered into the room, the way her head felt, and the classic spacing out of the voices, screamed a dream.

"Hey sleepy head."

Alison and her parents were sitting around the table eating some snacks and obviously chatting. Her parents and Alison both smiled at Emily before Pam scowled at her. "Emily Catherine, put a damn shirt on. Now."

"Ali?" Emily held up the shirt, slightly pouting, begging the blonde for help. She knew she didn't have to pout in order for Alison to help her, Emily knew Alison would help her get dressed, like she has every night, but a silent plea would mean a lot to Alison.

"Sit down, I can't reach." Alison smiled and switched places with Emily. She turned to Pam and Wayne, examining them in thought. "How the hell did she get so tall, you're both about average height." Alison carefully slipped the shirt through Emily's tender shoulder and then pulled it over the rest of her body.

Emily stood and leaned down to quickly peck the girl's lips. "I don't know, she just grew like a freak." Wayne commented, chuckling and taking a swig of his coffee.

"Wayne."

"A freak in every way." Emily commented, laughing as she dug through her little junk drawer for the Tylenol. Alison nearly choked on her own coffee, meanwhile Wayne chuckled and Pam looked at Emily, probably feeling sorry for her.

"Em, it's okay." What her mother didn't realize is that Emily and her father always joked about her, being the biggest freak show in town. It made it a lot easier for Emily to talk about, and accept.

"Hey," she dropped two pills in her hand and grabbed Alison's water, taking a drink and throwing the pills to the back of her mouth. "it had its perks. Most kids didn't pick on me because I was so tall."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah," Emily scrunched her eyebrows together and nodded at her mom. "I just, I don't know what happened. I feel weird, I don't even remember going home, and I definitely don't remember eating pizza."

"You woke up in the middle of the night, practically screaming because of your shoulder. I gave you another pill. You wanted pizza, so we got some on the way home, but only on one condition." The three sitting at the table were smiling at Emily as Alison recalled that part of last night.

"Wh-what?"

"You're moving in with me." Alison grinned like a little girl on Christmas, and the hand that was nervously rubbing the back of Emily's neck came to a stop. "And, you can't deny it because you already ate the pizza."

"Oh." They sat in silence for a few seconds, all eyes focused on the brunette. "Really?" Her voice picked up, excitement floating through.

"Yup." Alison said, took another drink and set it back on the table before her eyes connected with Emily's again. "This Saturday, Toby and Spencer are going to help me get you moved."

Emily's parents took the two out to lunch, and left them alone until Alison headed to work. The two sat, completely relaxed on the couch, just talking about Emily's childhood, life, and her parents. Of course, her parents had shown Alison pictures and videos from when she was a child. She commented, 'you still have that cute little butt' and 'you always looked so goofy.' Alison took the opportunity to lightly tease Emily for everything funny she did as a kid, all thanks to Emily's parents.

Her mother and father mostly shared their favorite memories of Emily with Alison. Like the time she went skating, fell, cried, and never went on the ice again. Or how she always picked off the needles from the Christmas tree, every time she didn't get her way. But her parents also shared some information Emily would've liked to keep under the rug, for now. Like how Steve, her biggest bully, teased and pranked her almost every day since seventh grade. How Nicole cheated on her, many many times, before Emily broke it off and how much it hurt Emily.

Alison felt that it was crucial, for their relationship, that Emily's parents had visited and spent so much time talking to her. She felt like she understood Emily better. Emily had been quiet since she was a baby, unlike Alison thinking something happened to the brunette.

When Emily's parents came back after Alison left, the three of them talked. They mostly voiced their concerns about Emily herself, but they talked about Alison too. Her parents loved Alison. Mostly, they were telling Emily she couldn't screw anything up, and that she had to be completely honest with Alison, because both of them saw it; Alison was Emily's soulmate.

Emily knew that she needed to tell Alison everything, and it had to come from her mouth. Her parents didn't know the extent of what Emily even felt, during any moment in her life. So Emily knew she had to retell Alison everything, but some prior knowledge, helped ease her in a way. It would come, someday she would sit down with Alison and tell her absolutely everything about herself, but she was still scared. She was still scared to let Alison completely in, because she held all of Emily's heart and if something happened, she would never survive it.


	14. Chapter 14

The past four months have been hectic for both Emily and Alison. Alison has been swamped with cases; the old head of general surgery is about to take the role of the new chief. Chief Porter is retiring, and Alison's boss was chosen for the job. She's waiting, and hoping that chief Taylor will hire a new head of general so her work days are less crammed.

Emily finally got back into the swing of things at work. Except now, she's on a mini hiatus. The big trial for David Swanson's sentencing starts tomorrow. She was let off a day early to prepare. She had to be ready, so Alison's family could sleep a little easier at night.

On top of the trial stress that has accumulated in Emily's mind, she's been working out again. The football season will start in about two months. Normally, she would just exercise a few weeks before the first game, but she was off her feet. She was sitting around, doing nothing for a good month and a half before Alison finally stopped babying her. It took her long enough to convince Alison she was perfectly okay for them to have sex again.

"Seriously Ali?" Emily whined, still peppering the blonde's neck with kisses. "I'm horny."

"Last time you hurt yourself. No. Not until you're at one hundred percent." Alison rolled away from Emily and leaned over the edge of the bed to grab her discarded shirt.

"I think you like to be bad so I have a reason to punish you." Emily used her 'hurt' arm to grab Alison by the waist and pull her into her own side. Emily teasingly trailed her hand lower and lower, stopping on the girl's hip. "Do you need to be punished?" Emily whispered into Alison's ear, her lips ghosting and tickling Alison's ear.

Alison moaned in answer, Emily was sending her body to overdrive. Every touch, kiss, bite, and lick were slowly killing Alison on the inside. Her arousal senses were so heightened, she hadn't even realized Emily stealthily slipped her sweats and panties down her body.

Emily slapped Alison's plump ass, her lips ghosting against Alison's lips. "I'm the boss in here." Emily's eyes were dark, almost a pure black. Emily surged forward, capturing Alison's soft lips into a hungry kiss. She pushed Alison's chest with little force, making her fall back against the bed, Emily slithering down her body.

She muttered quietly, "I'm in charge" before her mouth latched onto Alison's sensitive area. Alison's back arched off the bed, her head thrown back into the silky sheets, a loud moan filled the room followed by, "holy fuck. Emily."

"You like that? Hmm?" Emily's entire tongue ran dangerously slow, along Alison's slit, and finally was dancing her tongue on Alison's bundle of nerves.

"Oh my god." Alison moaned out breathily, her back flat on the bed with her fingers tangled into Emily's locks. "Yesss." She whispered through a moan again.

"Then you're about to love me." Emily smirked and reconnected her lips with Alison's. Her hips purposely grinding into Alison, earning moans and a bite on the neck. Emily's boxers were the only thing in the way of the two from reaching their ultimate highs.

"Ten blade." Alison and Spencer were both performing a surgery together, something that didn't happen often but when it did, the two friends loved it.

Alison and Spencer worked diligently to save the woman's life. She and her son were in a car accident, she was worse off than the boy. He only have some cuts and bruises, while she had a heart defect that Spencer was going to fix, and Alison took out the woman's spleen and controlled a few bleeders in the field.

"So, how is Emily? I haven't talked to her since we moved her in, and we've been so busy...we haven't had time to talk about our personal life." Spencer was now across from Alison, helping her close the patient.

"I don't know. Same as usual-"

"Quiet."

Alison chuckled, smiling underneath her mask "yeah." Her fingers meticulously moved the instruments in her hand as she tied a stitch.

"God, what do you guys even do? Do you just sit there and eat, watch television, pretty much do everything together in silence?" Everyone conscious in the operating room laughed, most of them thinking how terrible it would be to live with someone, in total silence.

"Of course we talk Spence. I just..I don't know. I guess I didn't really realize how much she works and sleeps." Alison chuckled, holding her hand out for the scissors. "She still takes me out for cute little dates and what not, but I just am," Alison pauses and sighs, handing the scissors back over, officially signaling that the surgery was complete, "worried about her."

"Why? What's wrong?" Spencer asked worriedly, while the pair scrubbed out.

"She just overworks herself and with the trial tomorrow, she's stressing out. Like bad. One morning I woke up and she wasn't in bed and I got scared. She walked in from working late and just crashed on the couch. She said she forgot that she wasn't at her own place anymore, and it's happened numerous times."

"Tell her to quit working so hard. She really shouldn't have to work that hard. You both have good jobs."

"I've hinted before for her to take it down a notch Spence. What else can I do?" Alison threw her surgical mask violently, well as violently as paper could fly, feeling frustrated with Emily.

They have been together for a while now, nearing an entire year together, yet Emily was still this closed off shell. She knew she shouldn't be mad at the brunette. This was all so new to Emily. Emily grew up way differently than anyone else has. Emily was this way since she was a baby.

The brunette and herself did talk a bit about Emily. Alison questioned why Emily took Alison to the rink, if she hated it so much. The answer she got didn't really surprise her at all, 'because you like it.' With shaky legs, Emily held on to Alison's hand for dear life, the entire time they skated circles around the rink.

But sometimes she could feel Emily open up like a flower, only to be cut down the next day. Every once in a while Emily would let herself go wild; it was the energy. She would let herself...not paint when she had it. But it only happened twice since they moved in together. But those two times she saw Emily, Alison completely and wholeheartedly fell for Emily.

The smile Emily had on, the laughter the two shared while they went go-karting was heart warming. And she got to witness it happen four times in a row. Emily wouldn't let them leave until Alison won, but more so because Emily really didn't want to leave. In the end, Emily took out all the other racers so Alison could take home the metaphorical trophy. After their go-karting adventure, they walked the streets hand in hand and never stopped smiling.

The second time, Emily insisted on going to the beach. Alison was a little apprehensive, for Emily's sake. She didn't know if Emily would be comfortable in public and so exposed to so many people. But they had a great time. They played catch with the football along the beach, and obviously went in the water. They joked about some of the people they saw at the beach, even though Emily felt horrible about making a joke of someone, but they had fun. They stayed all night, until the sun had set long ago.

"Bring Emily over for dinner tonight. We'll play games and all three of us will talk to her; we'll all help her tonight."

It took a little coaxing, but Alison got Emily to leave the smaller, but still as efficient painting room that Alison designated for her. The case files and statements were sprawled out on the floor, with the brunette pacing around the room the whole day. Alison promised to get them both home at a decent time, so she could look over her notes one final time before heading off to bed.

They decided to walk to Spencer's house, seeing it was only about two blocks away from Alison's place. Emily carried Alison to Spencer's on her back, the blonde was complaining how tired she was and how sore her feet were from the hours she spent in the operating room today. Alison was giggling the entire way to Spencer's, shoving her face into Emily's warm neck, at the small jokes she cracked during the walk.

Toby and Emily went outside to grill the steaks. Alison and Spencer prepared the salad and the side dishes: mashed potatoes and asparagus. The two girls inside talked, gossiped, while waiting for the two outside to come in with the steaks.

The two couples sat at the table, sitting across from each other as they dug in to their food. As both Alison and Spencer had anticipated, Emily being absent from the conversation.

"Great steaks, Toby." Alison commented, finishing up her plate and rubbing the back of Emily's hand, that she's been holding since the beginning of dinner.

"Thanks. But I only drank beer, Emily cooked." Toby smiled, tilting the neck of his beer bottle towards the brunette before he took a swig.

"I was going to say, Toby doesn't cook this good." Spencer joked, playfully hitting the man's shoulder. After the laughter died down, they all looked to Emily, who only nodded her head in a thanking manner.

"Let's go play some games." Toby piped up, pushing himself away from the dinner table and bringing his plate into the kitchen. Emily waited, of course, for Spencer to be completely finished. The other two girls set their plate in the sink before they followed in Toby's footsteps in to the living room. Emily started washing her plate, silverware, and glass, and was drying it when Spencer came back into the kitchen.

"Em, don't worry about it. Come play games." Spencer smiled, and pulled out a meat and cheese platter for the four to snack on while they played.

"I'm done. Where do they go?"

After settling on a game, they played in teams on Mario Party four on the GameCube. Emily was pretty much clueless, losing every single mini game that they had to play. Spencer and Toby were winning, but still didn't control a dominant lead. If Alison and Emily got another star, they would be tied.

Unfortunately, Emily lost a mini game to Spencer, resulting in team red also known as Emily and Alison's team, to fork over a star to team blue. The game ended, obviously in a loss for Emily and Alison. They all teased Emily at how much of an MVP she was for Spencer and Toby, rather than Alison. Emily felt bad, and a little like she was back in middle school and that first year of high school all over again.

Kids never bullied her, but they did tease her. They all knew she would never hurt a fly, and they took advantage of that. They'd tease her about they way she talked to people, how she really didn't have friends, how much she looked like a praying mantis, they teased her for a lot and she was glad that part of her life was over. Things were different now, and she knew that Spencer, Alison, and Toby, were joking with her. Not teasing her out of amusement, or to better their status.

"Alright! Time for Mario Party seven." Toby playfully shot his fist in the air, like he had won something. He opened the console and switched the games for one another.

Emily set her controller on the couch, next to her thighs, muttering, "I'm out for this round." She leaned her head on Alison's shoulder and watched the title screen pop up.

"Oh C'mon, Em. We were just kidding." Spencer looked at the brunette, ultimately feeling a bit guilty that they had made her feel like she had to stop playing.

"I know." She whispered, resting her right hand on Alison's hand that rested on her thigh. "I'm just tired."

"You really need to stop working so much. You're going to kill yourself before you're forty." Both Alison and Spencer shared a look. Toby had no prior knowledge of the plan they created, because they knew he would never agree to be in on it. Alison herself was skeptical about it. She knew Emily wouldn't like them to gang up on her, but she felt that the reward was worth the risk.

Emily only mumbled, shrugging her shoulders as best she could, her mumble completely incoherent to everyone, even the girl she was practically laying on. "Emily, we're all just worried about you."

"Yeah. I don't even know if you shower, or eat, or sometimes I don't even know if you're home." Alison stated, worry just oozing from her tone.

"Everyone works."

"Emily, nobody works basically two full time jobs." Spencer argued back.

"Is this why you made me come? For you guys to tell me how shitty I am at life?" Alison hadn't really seen Emily get so..riled up before. Her voice reached an octave she's never heard the brunette use before; not once.

"Em, look, it's not like that." Alison tried, running her fingertips softly across Emily's hand.

"Then please, enlighten me on what the fuck this is." She bit back, her voice stern. She was furious, but she didn't want to lose her marbles in front of everyone.

Alison's mouth opened and closed, not being able to formulate a thought. She couldn't say 'it's not what it looks like.' Because it was exactly what it looked like. They had planned this. And she knew that it was a colossal mistake.

Emily scoffed, standing from the couch and ripping her hand away from the blonde's. She all but bolted to the door, slipping her shoes on, muttered a see you later, and left the residence. Not even moments later she could hear Alison running after her, and calling for her.

"Alison." She turned around, catching the blonde by her shoulders. Alison breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she caught up to Emily. "Go back. I don't have time for this, I have something very important tomorrow, and you know that."

"No, Em, I didn't-"

"What? You didn't what?" Alison's eyes brimmed with tears. She could feel the heat and anger radiating off of the girl before her. Emily's hands were balled into fists, her short finger nails digging into her palm in an attempt to keep her anger at bay.

"I'm sorry." Alison reached for Emily's hands, only to be denied. "I love you, and I'm worried about you."

"Well you have no reason to be." Emily sighed heavily, taking in the distraught image of the blonde. "Goodnight Alison." With that, Emily walked away from Alison, leaving her alone and crying in the middle of the street.

Their first real fight. She didn't even know if she should go home. It was technically her house, but they had fought, and what were the rules on that? After spending a few more hours with Spencer and Toby, she made her way home. The brunette was fast asleep on the couch, curled into a fuzzy blanket and a pillow. It wasn't all that surprising, even though Emily was pissed, that she still gave Alison the better end of the deal.

Alison changed and sunk into the bed. It felt colder without Emily next to her. She felt like she was all alone again, and she hated the feeling. She caused them to fight, so she needed to be the one to fix it. She needed to make it up to Emily. Honestly, it was probably a horrible idea to piss Emily off the night before the big trial. Alison knew she'd be thinking about it all day at work tomorrow, while Emily and her parents were in court. Emily had to be in the court room, with so much pressure on her to be professional and get the facts laid down correctly.

Alison's parents, David, the judge, the jurors, literally everyone's eyes were going to be on Emily, hanging onto every word that came out of her mouth. She had to be on top of her game, if she wanted the designated end result. Alison realized it now, but tonight could ruin everything for her parents, and it would be entirely her fault.

She had all the faith in the world in Emily. But had she just thrown her off her game? Would Emily be worried about their argument rather than the task at hand tomorrow? No, Alison thought. Emily is a machine when it comes to work. She'll be fine. She'll be great. Right? Because she has to be, otherwise, a lot could come back to bite her in the ass.


	15. Chapter 15

"Alison, I don't think that's a good idea." Spencer informed her friend. Spencer and Toby had taken her out to dinner, seeing as Emily was absent even after the day's work in the courtroom was over.

Alison had received a call from her parents around six thirty, letting her know that the day had concluded. Her parents told her how the day went. Which was pretty rough; especially for Emily when they cross examined her.

"Ms. Fields, is it true that you are in a relationship with Mr. Dilaurentis's sister?"

"Yes." A few people in the audience gasped, and the jurors stared intently at Emily. Jason's team of lawyers looked at her, completely disappointed. This kind of information could obliterate their case.

"Then why, Ms. Fields, were you on her brother's case?"

"We were not together during that time period. I wasn't the only one on the case, Officer Cavanaugh and Chief Thompson were both on the case. I was called to the case. I have the best success rate in our department, sir."

Although this information was all true, this could easily elevate David's chances of walking out of the courtroom. To say that Emily was slightly worried, was an understatement. She knew that the evidence all pointed towards David, but there's a small chance that the jury could let him walk; simply because she was on the case, even though the evidence alone should lock him up for a long time.

She knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything, so she went to try and ease her mind. She ignored her phone buzzing, Alison attempting to call her, and shut off from the world for as long as she could. She stared out at the water, letting her mind race through idea after idea of what she could do to ensure that David would be locked away.

Alison looked at the waiter who had been flirting with her almost all night, and she reciprocated. She was tipsy, but Emily still flashed through her mind. "How would someone as nice and good looking as you, make it up to you, if you were mad at them." Her hand gripped his forearm, keeping him in place and flashing him a smile. Her stumbled words didn't make all that much sense, but none the less, he smiled widely at her. His smile was nowhere near Emily's cute and gorgeous smile.

"Well beautiful," he turned his attention to Alison, his hand lingering on top of her own, "all it would take for me is one look from you, and all would be forgiven."

"Well there goes your tip." Spencer muttered and earned an elbow from Toby. He agreed, but Spencer was a little too loud for his liking.

Alison excused herself and went to the bathroom to wash up. She splashed water on her face, and walked out the door, only to be met by Adam, the waiter.

"Hmmm." He moves closer to her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "You are even more beautiful up close." Her senses were slow, her reaction was slow. By the time her brain caught up to what was happening, it was all too late. She tried to say something, but her voice got caught; by a pair of lips. That were not Emily's.

Alison pushed his chest, creating enough distance for her to slip back to their table. Unfortunately, he followed right behind her and cockily boasted that he planted his lips on Alison's.

"You're friend has the softest lips ever." Spencer and Toby turned to her with wide eyes. In return she bowed her head, trying her best to get out of this new mess she and Adam just created.

He pulled out the bill, and wrote something down on one of his spare napkins in hand, before folding both in half and sliding them on the table. As soon as he left with their empty plates, Spencer slapped Alison on the arm. "Alison, what the fuck?"

"What? I have to make it up to Emily somehow, I pushed him off right away, and I didn't ask him to kiss me. He trapped me at the bathroom like a little bitch." She shrugged, not really giving her night of flirting a second thought.

"By flirting with our waiter." Toby spoke out, and slid the napkin for Alison to see. "Now you have his number, too, on top of him kissing you. I'd say you did a fantastic deed for Emily."

"I just needed help, which that fucking airhead was no help at all. He created a fucking problem." Her words slurred, and her face a slight shade of red.

"Come on, let's get you home." Toby slapped down three twenty's and waited for the two girls to collect their purses so they could go back to Alison's house.

The trio entered the household, not really sure if they wanted Emily to be there or not. She was there though. She was peacefully sleeping on the couch. Toby quietly closed the door as Spencer tried to get Alison up stairs and into bed before her and Toby could leave.

Alison got a glimpse of Emily as they walked past the couch. In her drunken state, she jumped on top of Emily, her knee accidentally slamming into Emily's junk, and laying on top of the brunette. "Oww, what the fuck?" The brunette groaned and pushed the body off of her, her hands cupping the affected area, trying to relieve some pain.

"Oops." Alison giggled, sitting on Emily's feet. The stare she got from Emily, was deathly. "I woke the grumpy beast." She giggled again, Spencer looking at the brunette with all the sympathy in the world. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked over at Toby who was on his phone; of course he was no help to her in this situation.

"Alison, can you please go upstairs? I'm really not in the mood." Emily pulled her feet from underneath Alison and tucked her knees to her chest. She took Alison's silence as Alison agreeing to go upstairs. Spencer thought she was being a little harsh, but then she remembered Alison telling her how grumpy Emily was in the morning. Sometimes she wouldn't talk for a while, and sometimes she was just as crabby as she was now. Well, Alison did kind of jolt Emily awake, and not in a good way; plus she was still tipsy from tonight. So Spencer actually understood Emily, she knew herself, or Toby, would react pretty much the same in that situation. 

"So its a bad time to admit that I kinda asked for someone to kiss me tonight?" Reviewing her actions from the night now, she saw how her flirting definitely led to the waiter's reaction. She felt so ashamed of herself, that she would do such a thing, to attempt to fix a small problem.

Emily's eyes opened quickly. She felt like she wasn't exactly hearing Alison, or this was some crazy prank or something. Her eyes broke off the small coffee table and looked at the blonde who sat on the end of the couch, no words being spoken.

"On that note, we're gonna go." Spencer said quietly and turned to the door quickly. She grabbed Toby's hand, spinning him in a circle, and getting so close to the exit before she was stopped.

"Wait." Emily's voice stopped the fleeing party from leaving the house. "I need all the information from you two."

"It was just harmless flirting babe." She wanted the situation to die as quick as possible. Alison really didn't need another reason for Emily to be mad at her.

"Harmless flirting?" Emily asked, obviously a rhetorical question. Her anger was rising to an even higher level. "There's no such thing as harmless flirting."

"She was trying to get an answer out of our waiter, it was just a meaningless peck. It'll never happen again, right Alison?" Spencer tried to be the peacemaker right now, except that was no use.

"Yes."

"It always starts out as one time. It's always, 'I'm sorry Emily, it'll never happen again. I promise.' It always happens again, and I'm not going through that bullshit again."

"C'mon Emily, you know that that's not true." Nicole and Emily were sitting on Emily's bed, shoulder to shoulder.

"Oh, it's not?" Emily took her eyes off the floor, and looked into those bright green eyes. Her own tears finally spilling down her face. "It wasn't true the first time, so why would I question it when it's happened so many times?"

Nicole's right hand moved on top of Emily's knee, her left gently caressing Emily's cheek, only to have Emily turn away from her touch. "Why would you do this to me? Why do you keep doing this to me?" Emily's voice was shattered, as was her heart. There was no fixing either of them. Nicole's hand retreated from her leg. There were no words, complete silence filled the room; a sure sign that she was definitely guilty.

"I don't-"

"Don't even tell me you don't fucking know."

Nicole stood, wringing her hand before sighing and dropping them at her sides. Emily waited, for some reason she felt she really needed to know why. What went wrong. What she did wrong. So maybe next time, this wouldn't happen.

"I just..." She looked at Emily, and the words died in her throat. She grabbed her jacket from the side of the bed, and walked out the door. She turned, watching Emily cry even harder now. "I wanted to have some fun, and I knew that you'd never do anything if we weren't in a relationship."

Emily heard the words and choked out a loud sob. How could anybody be this cruel? Why didn't Nicole just break up with her immediately? She didn't need to lead Emily on, and she definitely could've saved her a lot of heartbreak. Her sobs were so loud, she hadn't realized that Nicole left, and she was alone again.

Emily remembers that day like it was yesterday. Everyday with Nicole in fact, was so fresh in her memory. She remembers crying hysterically all day. She remembers her parents coming home to find her sobbing in her room. She remembers her mom making her some soup and putting on one of Emily's favorite comedy's, "Bridesmaids." She remembers her mom cuddled into her side on the couch, while her head was on her dad's lap as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You.." Spencer's words died quickly, the confusion and sorrow written on her face. All three sets of eyes were on Emily, in fact, and it was one thing she absolutely hated. "I, we, didn't know."

"Em, I was trying to get help." Alison sobered up fairly quickly. "I don't know what to do. I don't know what's going on, because you never tell me anything."

"I'm trying Alison!" The brunette exclaimed, a new set of tears quickly rushing down her face. "I'm trying." She whispered, her head slumping into her hands.

A silence fell over the room, only Emily's sniffles being heard. No one knew exactly what to do, or what to say. But Spencer shot Alison a look, telling her to comfort the brunette sitting a cushion away from her. Alison scooted carefully to the brunette, gripping the girl's arm and rubbing circles on her back.

"Don't!" The brunette was hysterical. The tears leaving her eyes were quicker than a cheetah. She pushed Alison's hands away from her own body and looked at the blonde with the most sad eyes Alison had ever seen. When Emily looked at her like that, her body completely split into two. "I was waiting up for you tonight, so I could apologize. I'm stressed out and I was taking it out on you. But then you come home, and you kissed someone else?"

"No Em. No-"

"Did I do something wrong?" She sniffled again, her heart felt like it was ripped out of her chest and she witnessed it being incessantly stomped on in front of her. Toby and Spencer shared a glance with one another, before they both looked at Emily sympathetically; which went completely unnoticed by the brunette.

"Emily, no. No. He kissed me. And I pushed him off right away." The bright blue orbs staring straight into the deep, cracked, brown eyes created everything between the pair. It was a moment of trust for the brunette, and a moment of knowing everything Emily felt at the moment for Alison. As much as Emily's eyes gave away, so did Alison's.

"I'm going for a walk." Emily stood, putting her tennis shoes on, the three other occupants in the house gingerly following after her. "I'll come back, don't worry." She put her hands on Alison's shoulders and leaned in to press a soft kiss to Alison's cheek. Emily's lips were much warmer, much softer, and much more delicate than that schmuck from the restaurant. "I always come back, and that's probably my downfall." She whispered before her head dropped to the floor and she left the house.

"Well fuck." Toby broke the immediate silence, rubbing the back of his neck. Spencer backhanded his chest, her hand creating a loud thud.

Alison walked into the kitchen, in a complete trance. Her brain was practically fried and she really had no clue what to do. She had kind of hoped that Spencer would have some magical idea, but both Spencer and Toby were at as much of a loss as was she.

She debated on whether or not to call Pam. She didn't exactly want to call up her girlfriend's mother and explain the whole situation. Sure, Pam would probably tell her what to do, and how to fix their previous fight too, but she knew in order to make it last with Emily, she needed to figure it out on her own.

No amount of parental guidance, or great advice, or wishful thinking would keep their relationship off the rocks. Alison couldn't really believe that Emily was cheated on, multiple times. How could anyone do that to her? Not that she wasn't as bad as all the rest. But how could they do that repeatedly? Seeing Emily break down into a fit of tears was something Alison swore she would never make her do again. It pissed her off that this happened to such a nice person like Emily. She was so pissed at herself.

"Don't beat yourself up." Spencer always knew Alison like a book. She slid a glass of water towards the blonde and shot her a sympathetic smile. "None of us knew."

"I know, but that doesn't make me feel any better." The blonde rubbed her forehead, took a sip of water, and sighed heavily. "I mean did you see her fucking face?" The disdain in Alison's voice was clear. It hurt her more than anything in the world to see Emily so torn apart, and it was all at the hands of her doing.

"I'm sorry." Toby blurted out, sheepishly rubbing his bicep.

"Why are you sorry?" Alison muttered, wandering over to the fridge to pour herself some more water.

"I kind of...started this whole mess." Both girls looked at him dubiously. "When we were playing games? I brought up her working so much." He filled in emphatically, talking with his hands, gesturing to Alison's entire mess.

"Oh, we planned to bombard her anyway." Spencer kissed his cheek. The weight lifted off the man was evident. "Don't sweat it."

Alison could only imagine how Toby really felt. If she was the one to cause Spencer and Toby to have a falling out like this...she'd probably never forgive herself. Even if they made up, she'd feel horrible. Now, that she did cause a falling out of her own, she felt like a flaming hot pile of garbage.

Emily felt the same. She felt like she attracted the type of people who always hurt her. Except Alison hadn't really hurt her prior to tonight. She was frustrated. Angry. Sad. Her body was fuming with rage, but for some reason the tears wouldn't stop. She tried calling her mother and father, probably a hundred times with no answer.

She thought that small portion of her life was left behind. It was lost, left behind like a forgotten phone charger, after her new beginning. She was always such a hopeful kid, and person in general. But now, in these gut wrenching moments that have occurred for her way too often, she felt hopeless. What else could she do? It's not like she wasn't trying to do everything in her power to ensure that this never happened to her, yet again.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey Ali, are you going to the game tonight?" Alison was taking a break in the attending's lounge, her legs fully extended across the leather couch and a coffee in hand. Spencer sat in the small chair to the side of the couch where Alison's head was. She reached up, pulled off her purple flowered scrub cap off, and threw it on the table. 

"If I make it out in time. I have a liver and kidney transplant in like," Alison flipped her wrist into view, so she could read the time, "forty minutes."

Spencer watched as the blonde closed her eyes again after taking a sip of coffee. "That cold still kicking your ass?" Spencer could still faintly hear the congestion when she spoke. Over the past three days or so Alison had been battling the bug while at work. Of course she was too stubborn to take a day or two off. 

"Yeah, and I gave it to Emily." Alison rubbed at her forehead before forcing herself to sit up. "And she has it worse than I did. I tried talking her out of playing tonight, but that was no use." Alison and Emily had been having a small dinner every Sunday night with Alison's parents, but now cancelling tonight because she knew Emily needed to rest. She took another gulp of coffee before taking in Spencer's appearance. "You alright?"

"Exhausted." Alison handed Spencer her coffee, the brunette popping the top of before she took a drink. "Toby kept me up all night." 

"You and me both sister." Spencer coughed on the coffee that was in her mouth, gingerly swallowing it before she shot Alison a look. 

"God, I didn't mean it like that." Toby was up all night banging pots and pans attempting to make some type of treats for the guy's game tonight, except he burnt everything he made. So, Spencer was called out of bed every thirty minutes to help clean the mess Toby made. Eventually, she just made a couple pans of brownies so she could finally go to sleep. "How do you have the energy to do that when you're sick? You're both sick!" 

"Well, when you've got a hot girlfriend like mine, it's hard to stay away. Plus her whole...possessiveness lately...soooo hot." 

"Ew. Please, I really don't want the details." Spencer made a disgusted face, Alison laughing at her friend. "I'm glad the fight between you two ended in both of your favors though." Alison's mind flashed back to that night they fought. 

"Alison!" Ali heard the door slam shut and Emily's voice calling out for her. She honestly didn't think Em would come back tonight. She was already upstairs, tucked into bed, and almost asleep when the brunette came home. She heard the footsteps reach the bedroom, before Emily sat next to her on the bed. Alison propped herself up on her elbow, so she could look at Emily. 

"I want to be mad at you. I wish I could be mad at you." Emily ran a hand through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I can't though, because I..god Ali, I love you. I swear, if you ever flirt with another person, I'm done. I know you won't, well, I don't think you will, but I-"

Alison leaned forward and put her hand over Emily's mouth, stopping her from nervously blabbering on. "I promise. Never. Again." 

"God, I wanna tie you up for being so bad." Emily whispered, the glint in her eyes a small speck of light in her now dark eyes. 

"Then do it." Alison whispered, her hand traveling down Emily's body, rubbing the inside of her thigh dangerously slow. Emily reached over to the side of their bed, opening the bottom drawer of her nightstand, grabbing the rope before turning back to Alison. 

Alison's hand was already rubbing Emily's member through her jeans, feeling just how aroused the brunette was. Emily was quick to rip off Alison's clothes and tie her to the head board. 

"God, you're so beautiful." Emily's fingers traveled over every inch of Alison's bare skin. Her hands finally rested on Alison's breasts, playing with the hardened nipples underneath her finger tips. Occasionally she'd take the nipple in her mouth, roll her tongue over the bud, and kneading the other breast with her hand. 

"Em, please." Alison was weighing underneath Emily's touch. Emily's hot tongue now exploring every inch of her body, except for the one place she really wanted it. Emily got dangerously close to the final destination with her tongue, but to Alison's disappointment, the girl only placed two quick kisses to Alison's throbbing core. Alison whimpered, watching as Emily took of her own clothes. Her eyes darkened and her core throbbed harder seeing Emily member free, and twitching and dripping with pre-cum. 

When Emily finally entered into her own dripping center, Alison let out a combination of a happy sigh and a moan. Emily moved Alison's legs over her strong shoulders, taking the pace slow, and ravishing the girl's neck with kisses and her nipples with her fingers. 

"Hey!" Alison snapped out of her little flashback from Spencer yelling at her. "I don't want to witness an orgasm from you just thinking about it." 

"You're so weird. You go back and forth between deciding on whether or not you want to be a prude." Alison giggled, watching Spencer's reaction immediately go on the defensive side. 

"Actually, your girlfriend can't even talk about sex so.." Spencer trailed off and held her hand out, giving Alison the look, 'you know I'm right.' "She'd actually probably not talk to you for an entire day if she knew all the things you told me." Spencer chuckled, "oh, wait, she does that anyway."

Alison smiled at Spencer's joke. She liked that Emily was a mysterious person. She was almost like an onion. She always tried to peel back layers to see what was underneath, and she was the only one, besides Emily's parents, who knew the most information about the quiet brunette. The brunette was such a laid back person, such a caring person, and very private about her life. It was something that she really did admire about Emily.

"Hey, as long as she treats me with as much kindness as she does, I don't really care if she's shy about our private life." Alison shrugged, then whispered, "she's not shy in bed," earning an elongated groan from Spencer. 

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to hear about Emily hanging you up like a chandelier and forcing you to call her daddy. Okay?" Spencer huffed and sat back in the chair, groaning and rubbing her temples with her hand. Alison had gone practically in full detail about the night the two shared after her and Toby left. It was a one time thing, because Spencer didn't particularly enjoy hearing about the entire details that Alison and Emily shared. 

"I don't call her daddy." Alison made a displeased face, shaking her head before she spoke again. "It's not always like that. Sometimes she lights the candles and we take it slow." Alison loved when things slowed down, too. Emily was so gentle and caring. Emily would ravish every inch of her body, placing kisses and tracing along her skin, covering her body with goosebumps.

"God, you're animals." Spencer let out a laugh, knowing full well that she and Toby sometimes fit into the same category as Emily and Alison; where they couldn't go ten minutes without keeping their hands off one another.

"It's all about balance Spence." Alison checked the time. She pushed herself off the couch to start her prep for the surgery. As she walked by Spencer she patted the girl's shoulder and whispered, "it's all about balance," she ended with a devilish smirk. 

Emily slept almost all day. She was lucky enough to get a day off, the day of her game, and the fact that she was sick, were all very good for her. She's battled through a cold before, and still felt good throughout the game. When she played, she always felt like nothing was going on: in her head, around her, she felt nothing. It was one of the main reasons why she loved the game so much. Football became an escape for Emily. 

All night throughout the game, she raked her eyes through the stands, trying to eye her girl in the stands. She had tried messaging Alison when she was awake, to see what she was up to. Admittedly, Emily missed her. Unfortunately, Alison didn't answer her string of texts, so she went back to sleep, hugging Alison's pillow that smelled like her close to her chest. 

Even though she slept practically the entire day, she still felt pretty exhausted. Her legs felt a little heavier than normal, and it was harder for her to breathe tonight. During the very, very small breaks, she sat on the cold metal bench to try and catch her breath better. They were playing Ravenswood's EMT crew, one of the not as skilled teams, but Emily really liked playing against their crew. They were very respectful towards everyone on the team and had fun, instead of trying to obliterate their opponents with a hard hit, or some nasty trash talk. 

Anytime Emily's team switched their formation, and went with one wide receiver, two tight ends, and two running backs, Ravenswood would end up triple teaming her. She did beat their coverage sometimes, and when she did, the guys were very cool about it. They'd comment on how foolish Emily made them look, and joke that she needed to take a rep off so they could look just a little decent. 

One thing that made Emily so successful at the game of football, is that every opponent never really knew her game style. They always thought she'd been a deep threat. One of the safeties would shadow over the corner on her side, afraid that they'd be beat deep by her. But she really did mimic a lot of what Randall Cobb, her favorite player, did. She loved the quick routes; in routes, out routs, wheel routes, curls, slants, you name it. Then when they finally brought the safety up to the line of scrimmage, she would tell Toby to open it up. She'd make a double move at the line of scrimmage, acting like she was going to run another short or intermediate route, and then break for a post route or run a streak. 

It was something she was very thankful for; to be so versatile. She could line up on the outside, which she did most times or she could line up in the slot. Sometimes she'd throw the ball, and she could even run with it. On the defensive side, her instincts made her so good. She was a true shut down corner. She was very good in man coverage, zone coverage, and way above average on the run. 

Tonight was easy pickings for Emily. She basically got whatever she wanted out of the defense. She even caught a high point ball in the corner of the end zone, amazingly getting both feet in bounds while she had control of the ball, when four people were guarding her. Frank, the Captain of Ravenswood's team, and the man tasked with guarding Emily all night had made a proposition with Emily and Toby, should they have gotten to the ten yard line. Toby would throw a fade to Emily, while Frank and three of his tallest buddies guarded Emily.

After the game, she shook hands with the EMT crew and gathered her things together in the locker room. She muttered a quick, and quiet goodbye to Toby and headed for her vehicle. She could feel how tired her entire body felt, she was so ready for bed. She hopped in the driver's seat and threw her duffel bag onto the passenger's seat. She opened her phone to shoot a quick text to her mother, but found an unopened text from Ali that she received twenty-five minutes ago. 

'Hey babe, sorry I missed the game. I had a surgery, but to make up for it, I have a surprise for you. Hope you kicked ass, and I can't wait to hear all about it when you get home.'

Emily smiled, happy that nothing happened to Alison. It worried her all night to see Spencer in the stands without the beautiful blonde, she got to call her girlfriend, right beside her. Emily walked into the house, and let her bag slide off her slumped shoulder while she slipped her shoes off. She set her keys on the hook to the right of the door, and walked into the living room to see Ali sitting on the couch, the television on, but her concentration on something in her hands. The floorboard creaked as Emily walked towards her, unintentionally scarring her. 

"Oh, thank god it's you." Alison sighed, her hand dramatically laying over her heart. "How are you feeling? What did you do today?" It was very Pam Fields of Alison to be so concerned. Emily thought somehow, her mothers caring ways had somehow rubbed off onto her blonde through their many, many phone calls. Just like Emily had a very good relationship with Alison's parents, Alison had the same. 

Alison would FaceTime or call both Pam and Wayne on her own, not even necessarily to talk about anything specific. She loved the presence and the aurora the two had on her. She had seen where Emily got a lot of her desirable qualities. 

"Besides miss you?" Emily teased, putting her hand to her chin, pretending to think. "Miss you like crazy." Emily smiled, meeting Alison's dreamily blue eyes. When they locked eyes, Emily never wanted to break it. It was something purely magical for her.

"Hmm. Good thing I'm here now." Alison wrapped her arms around Emily's neck, and pulled the tall girl down so she wouldn't have to get on her tip toes. Emily's hands found Alison's jaw, their lips meeting moments after in a sweet kiss. "Surprise time." Ali pulled away, wiggling her eyebrows and taking Emily's hand upstairs to their bedroom. 

Laid out on the bed were a couple of Emily's favorite flavors of Gatorade: fierce grape, a pizza box, Safe Haven, and a couple spa masks. "Get your sweaty ass in the shower before the pizza gets cold." 

Of course Emily was quick, she didn't want to keep Alison waiting. She walked back into the bedroom, only sporting a sports bra and a pair of grey Nike joggers, that hung a little lower on her hips, revealing a portion of her Calvin Klein waistband. Alison had bought her both the boxers and the sweatpants, and they were definitely her favorites because they were so comfortable. 

Alison loved Emily the exact way she was dressed. It was like a perfect storm. Such a simple outfit, maybe not even classified as simple or an outfit, was a delight to her. The faint outline of her abs, the grey sweatpants, the amount of skin that showed, absolutely made Alison melt from the inside. Tonight was different though. Tonight, she just felt a smile quickly appear on her face. She could tell Emily was tired, and it was very apparent in her eyes. 

Nonetheless, Emily ate a slice of pizza, put on the face mask; but not without making funny faces and tease the blonde a bit, and watched Alison's favorite movie. After the face mask was off, she curled into Alison, her nose resting against the blonde's neck. Alison loved having Emily in her arms, but she would rather be in the brunette's warm embrace. Emily always had a tendency to partially lay on the blonde with her face shoved into her neck, something Alison found extremely adorable, but Emily was a little heavy and sometimes the loving brunette hindered her breathing. 

"I really don't get how girls didn't pounce on you through your entire life." 

"What? I mean I don't think people wanted to be with someone people threw their food at during lunch." Emily laughed, rolling off of Alison, reaching for her Gatorade so she could down the rest of it. 

"Can we please go find everyone in high school so I can beat the shit out of them all?" Alison felt the anger start to boil inside her again. The movie was now just background noise as the two started into yet another heavy conversation. 

"I don't think you'd actually be able to kick someone's ass baby." She sweetly kissed the pouting blonde's cheek. "But you'd definitely scare them with words." 

"You would be no different. I just want people to see what they missed out on." Ali smiled teasingly, her hand digging into the soft flesh on Emily's hip. 

"No one actually threw food at me Ali. People just ignored me." Emily whispered and pulled Alison into her side so they could finish watching the movie. Emily's hand massaged Alison's scalp while she reached with her other hand in search for the blonde's. 

Alison knew that if people really got to know Emily like she had, people would be lined up, just to be in her life. Emily hated anything to do with a spa night, she hated Safe Haven. She said it was too corny for her liking, and way too predictable. Yet, she still had a smile on her face and toyed around with the blonde. As her mom had pointed out to Alison, it was because Emily loved her so much. 

"I'm really sorry." Alison felt guilty, squeezing Emily's side tighter. She looked up at the brunette with fuzzy vision, but she could tell Emily's eyes were closed. "Em? You alright? You're kind of hot." Alison's hand moved away from Emily's torso and up to her forehead, feeling a thing layer of sweat coating Emily's caramel skin. 

"Do you ever go a day without complimenting me?" Emily opened her eyes, her chocolate orbs glistening back at Alison, practically telling the girl she was okay. She already felt better now than she really had all day today. 

"You really are something else." Alison smiled, her hand resting on Emily's warm neck, feeling her steady pulse on her palm. 

"Mhm. Now you really need to stop apologizing. I forgave you like two months ago." Emily brought their connected hands to her mouth, placing a gentle kiss to every knuckle on the back of Alison's hand. "I was stupid to think you were like the others, because you're not. I know that you didn't mean that. I know that you love me wholeheartedly." 

"I do." 

Emily fell asleep, unsurprisingly, but also a little surprising that she almost made it to the end of the movie. Once it was over, Alison took the pizza box form the door of the bed and picked up the garbage to put everything in their respective places in the kitchen. 

Alison climbed back in bed, pulling the covers over the both of them and snuggling back into Emily's warm side. She checked with the back of her hand one more time on Emily's forehead, feeling that her temperature was down and probably back down to her normal temperature. She kissed the corner of Emily's mouth, sighing and she felt herself starting so drift off into her own peaceful dreams, just like the goddess laying next to her.


	17. Chapter 17

Alison came home from the hospital, a little earlier than normal. The chief held a meeting for all the attendings and once the meeting concluded, they were allowed to leave. She walked in the door, the time nearing six thirty. The house was eerily quiet, although it didn't surprise her. Almost every time she came home, Emily was down in the basement, creating another masterpiece. 

Emily was not down in the basement, she was asleep on the couch, and a bouquet of beautiful white roses were laying on the small coffee table. Alison thought she looked so good in her flannel, left open with a white back shirt, and jeans. She set her purse down next to the flowers, and knelt on the floor next to Emily's head and shook the brunette, many times, before she woke up. 

Emily rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and stretched. "Hey, did you just get home?" 

"Yup. What do you want to do for dinner, sleepyhead?" She placed her hand on Emily's cheek, her thumb delicately dancing on the lower portion of Emily's ear. 

"Um actually," Emily blinked a couple times and liked her lips nervously, "I um, wanted to know if you wanted to go out tonight? I was craving a burger from Toni's or something from The Garden." 

"That sounds fantastic." Alison reached for Emily's hand, helping her off of the couch. "Why the roses though?" 

"Oh, it's kind of stupid, you know?" The brunettes hand rubbed the back of her neck and she found the floor more interesting at the moment than the blonde in front of her. "I saw them on my ride home this morning and I thought they were beautiful like you, and I just thought you would like them." She shrugged. The little old lady was so ecstatic to have Emily's business come so early for her. She picked out the most perfect white roses that the nice older woman had. 

Alison smiled and took Emily's hand, bringing her in close for a kiss. "You know how to make a girl blush." The pink tint to Alison's cheeks made Emily smile. "I'm still very shocked at how long you've managed to stay single." The truth was, Alison thought of that everyday. Emily was super laid back, but at the same time she wasn't. 

She was comforting when Alison needed it, which happened quite often; Alison's always been an emotional person. She'd been so understanding and had so much patience with her. She'd be a little spontaneous at times, much like tonight, but she never did anything outrageous, it was always some small little gesture that got the blonde's heart hammering against her chest a little harder. She liked to stay in, cuddle up, and watch movies. She was so caring, so generous, so shy at times, and so gentle. She couldn't see Emily killing a fly, so she often wonders how the hell Emily is a police officer. 

Emily drove to The Garden, much to Alison's liking. She too, was in the mood for some Chinese. Alison loved going to The Garden. It was a fancy dining option. The west wall in the building had a waterfall built in it, while a big fish tank sat in the middle of the dining room. Alison and Emily had never gone to The Garden together, but Alison had told the brunette how delicious the place was. 

"So how was work last night?" Alison asked, a little shocked Emily hadn't asked her how her day was yet. Every time she came home from work, Emily would always ask that question. They had ordered, deciding on two main dishes for them to split; sesame chicken and chicken and broccoli. 

"I don't want to talk about work tonight." 

Emily took a small leap forward, and started revealing things about herself. First and foremost, she addressed her work habits first. She had debt, from college still and from a loan. She also tried to help out her parents whenever she could. She went into further detail about her two relationships, how they started and how they ended. She also revealed to Alison that before her father was injured, Emily was always a little lonely. 

Her assistant football coach in high school, who died just three years ago, would go to the practice field every night with her. He had helped her immensely. They did catching, route running, defensive, and conditioning drills. She really wanted a dog, but with the amount of time that everyone was gone, she knew that wasn't really an option. So, every year for her birthday she had asked for a fish. Her parents never granted her wish, mostly because they knew they would end up cleaning the tank, and buying all the various supplies necessary for a fish. 

"I always wanted a Super Nintendo." Spencer had one when they were younger and the two best friends played it all the time. Alison was so jealous, and she bugged her parents for one just about every single day. Of course, she basically had a cake walk of a life compared to Emily. She literally got what ever she wanted without any money restrictions. Except the Nintendo console. Her parents said that it would make her brain cells completely rot, and then, she would never become a doctor like she always dreamed of. 

Instead she got early college courses. Spencer took them with Alison during the summer. The two knocked out some prerequisite classes together, so technically both Spencer and Alison graduated early as well as. They were the youngest attendings employed by the hospital today. Now, she was happy with not getting a game console, and instead receiving college courses early. If that had not been the case, she probably wouldn't have met Emily. Her entire life would be so different, had she not enrolled early.

The rest of their night was perfect. It was a total resemblance of Emily. They went home, cleaned up, and cuddled up in bed. Both girls complained how much their stomachs hurt from eating so much, but to both of them, it was well worth the discomfort. They got to share a lovely evening together. 

Alison gripped onto Emily's trembling hand as they drove to her parents house. "Em, everything will be fine. No need to worry, babe." They were getting their dinner in with Alison's parents that they missed a few weeks ago, and Emily's parents would be connecting with them, via FaceTime, to meet Jessica and Kenneth. 

"I just want our parents to get along." Emily mumbled. Her head rested against the cold car window, watching the various scenery pass by as they drove to the DiLaurentis' home. 

From what Alison had seen from Emily's parents, she had no doubt in her mind that both hers and Emily's parents would get along together. Alison's own parents adored Emily, and Emily was an exact replica of both her parents. She just hoped that they would get to meet face to face some day soon. 

The four ate dinner, the conversation between them flowed easily. But as time got closer to eight o'clock, the time her mother was going to be calling, Emily grew more and more nervous. "Excuse me," Emily pushed her chair out and stood, the three sets of eyes watching her, "I need to use the restroom. Emily pushed her chair back into the table and headed off to the bathroom. 

"Is she alright?" Alison's father questioned first. Both Kenneth and Jessica felt like Emily was another one of their own since she came into Alison's life. It was a little odd to see just how much her father was actually attached to Emily, because in her previous relationships, he wasn't as welcoming. Her mother on the other hand, always was invested in her relationships, but she knew that her mom liked Emily the best. It was easy to tell. She asked if the girls ever needed anything. She would always ask how Emily's work and football were going, and she was the one who initiated their Sunday night "Family dinners" together. 

"Yeah," Alison knew that Emily always got nervous, but she didn't think it would be this bad. She basically pushed food around on her plate, and really didn't talk with anyone before she excused herself. It was something odd for her parents to see, but they knew too that Emily was usually quiet, but they had never seen Emily this way before. "she's just really nervous."

"About us?" Her mother questioned, feeling like Ken and herself did something wrong that could've made the brunette more apprehensive. 

"No." Alison chuckled. "She loves you guys." Alison wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin, delicately setting it back to the side of her plate when she was done. "She wants you guys," she waved her fork in between her parents, "and her parents to get along. Like to actually like each other."

Her father smiled, as did her mother. They had talked about Emily numerous times, and therefore talked about her parents. Emily was so well mannered, and it wasn't a coincidence, and both of them knew that. They also had known of Pam and Wayne, both were regarded as great people, but they never personally met. The married couple didn't even know that Pam and Wayne had a kid, but they were both very grateful that they did.

"I don't think that will be a problem." 

"That's what I told Em, dad." Alison chuckled again, "I swear she's more sensitive than I am." 

Her mother shot her a look, as if to say 'you're joking, right?' Alison knew that was far from the truth, but in certain situations, Emily was more sensitive than she was. "Do I have to remind you that during college you practically cried every week?"

"Yeah, but college is hard." Alison whined.

"Well, you cried over losing a sock in the washer." Her dad joined in on the playful banter. Alison gave up, knowing that they were both right. She cried a lot and she knew she cried more than Emily, but Emily usually got more upset or nervous over things. 

They went back to eating and sharing some laughter. Alison kept glancing at the big grandfather clock on the back wall of the dining room, waiting for the appropriate amount of time before she could go check on Emily, or how long it would take for Emily to rejoin them. As if she could read Alison's mind, her mom spoke up, "are you sure she's okay? She's been gone a while."

"I'll go check." Alison made her way upstairs, and stuck her ear on the bathroom door once she reached it. She heard the sink water running, she tried the door but found that it was locked. 

"Babe? You okay in there?"

"Y-yeah. I'm-I'm fine." The door clicked and then slowly opened. Emily's face was pale, and her face damp from water being splashed on her face. Emily could see the immediate worry on Alison's face as soon as her girlfriend saw her own face. 

"Em, there's no need to be so nervous." Alison took in the brunette's warm hands into her own. "You're making yourself sick. Trust me, okay, it's all going to go exactly how you envision it." 

And Alison was right. Their parents meshed together just about as well as both Emily and Alison had. They talked for what felt like hours, Emily and Alison only stayed in on the conversation for the first ten minutes, before Emily left her phone with Kenneth and Jessica, and the young couple ventured off into the small residential area where Alison grew up. 

Emily reached out for Alison's hand as they walked in silence. Emily's head was twisting and turning with every step, completely awestruck by each house, trying to get a quick glimpse of the houses on both sides of the street. Alison watched the taller girl, smiling at her cuteness. Her tan cheeks were infused with a red tint, and Alison watched Emily's rhythmic breath form a cloud just in front of her mouth. 

"Are you shitting me?" Emily stopped walking, as did Alison. 

"What?" 

Emily's eyes were wide, but her body was just buzzing with excitement. And a little jealousy as well. "You got your own sports complex here?" 

Emily ditched Alison and ran to the basketball court. She shed her beanie and jacket and shot hoops while Alison watched with a smile on her face. Of all the kids that lived in her neighborhood, not one kid loved the complex as much as Emily had in this exact moment. Most of the kids in her neighborhood were not athletic whatsoever, so really, it barely got any use. 

After Emily was satisfied shooting hoops, and admiring the football field, baseball fields, tennis courts, and softball field, she put her jacket and hat back on and rejoined Alison. "You look so cute in that hat." 

"Hmm." Emily brought Alison's hand to her lips, placing a gentle kiss to each knuckle of Alison's cold hands. Her arm wrapped around the blonde's waist to bring the girl into her side. "You know, it was one year ago today that I caught your phone." 

"You have amazing hands." She winked back, meaning it in more ways than one. 

The two walked back to the DiLaurentis household, laughing about their first encounters with one another. Emily had caught Alison's eye from the moment they met, while Emily lagged behind a bit. When she asked Alison to go to her game in the grocery store parking lot, she almost melted into a puddle because of her nerves. 

Emily retrieved her phone and both girl's bid goodbye to Kenneth and Jessica. The couple went home and hopped into bed, facing one another. Alison stared at Emily's face, even though the girl's eyes were closed, she was still very much awake. Emily's soft fingers played with Alison's. It was something the two did quite often. Both girls were basking in the feeling of the other. 

"I'm so lucky." Alison whispered. She always had a lot of people give her attention or throw comments her way, but not a single person or single comment has ever meant so much to the blonde. None even came close to what Emily meant to her. Emily was the only one who loved her no matter what. Alison could see it in her eyes, even when they fought, Alison could see the love that poured from Emily's gorgeous brown eyes. 

Emily smiled and opened her eyes so she could look into Alison's beautiful blue pools. "Hmm, I was just thinking the same thing." Alison reached out with her free hand and rested it on the brunette's cheek. Her eyes closed again, "I've never been in a more comfortable bed in my entire life." She smirked, knowing exactly how to tease her blonde. 

"Hey." The blonde brought her hand down on her girlfriend's shoulder, before she let out a small chuckle. 

"Kidding." Emily's eyes opened once again and she leaned forward to capture the blonde's plump lips between her own. "I love you, baby." She kissed the blonde again, a happy hum escaping her own lips. 

"I love you too." 

Emily leaned back into her pillow, another happy sigh escaping her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed for the last time that night, and soon after, her fingers came to a halt against Alison's hand. Her fingers were stretched over the back of Alison's hand, her lips parted, and a soft snore filled the quiet room. 

"Thanks big guy, for making me drop my phone." Had it not been for the big guy who bumped into her, she never would've officially met Emily. She probably never would've went to another game, and she wouldn't have talked to Emily any other way. It was all supposed to happen the way it did. She kissed Emily's forehead one last time before she rolled over, with her back to the tanned beauty, and let sleep take over her body.


	18. Chapter 18

The loud noises, the bright flashy lights, the giant never ending puff of smoke: a mixture between cigarettes and cigars, were not something Emily liked being around. But of course, Alison had dragged herself as well as Toby and Spencer to the casino in Philadelphia. Since it was officially Emily's birth month, Alison wanted her to take advantage of her opportunity. The casino gave out ten dollars in free play for your birthday.

Emily vowed to herself that she wouldn't spend a dime of her own in this place. She knew the odds of winning at these machines were very very low, and most likely she'd walk away with less than she came in. She knew she'd end up having to make the ten dollars stretch, since Alison, Toby, and Spencer were going to be spending some of their own money. And not to mention, they would be likely be consuming some alcoholic beverages. It was one thing she really hated about casino's, aside from the smell, the lights, and the giant crowds of people. They offered cheap booze in order to induce people to shove more money down the machine's throats, and thus, creating more profit for them. 

For most of the time, Emily walked around. Her eyes fell onto all the older people, sitting at the quarter machines. She was happy to witness one of them win a decent chunk back from this rotten place. She sipped on her free water, and wondered how the other three were doing. They had split fairly early in the evening, Emily watched as the all three of them pushed buttons, seemingly not winning much. 

"I think I'm going to walk around and find a machine." She claimed, but she wasn't even sure if anyone heard her. The constant ringing and buzzing of those who won, along with the chatter and laughter, made it almost impossible to hear. 

So here she was, almost an hour later and she still hadn't used any of her free play. She spotted a machine in a corner, much of the area vacant of people besides a few couples and an older man. She sat down next to the older man, seeing he was up about thirty dollars, she smiled at him. 

By some odd chance, she managed to sit upon a machine that was due for a payout. Although it wasn't a large payout since she was betting the bare minimum, she still ended up making fifty bucks out of the ordeal. She stood up, took her receipt, and was prepared to walk away with fifty bucks in hand, but she caught sight of a machine she was sure she could add to her winnings. 

It was a simulated poker machine, the player against three other "computer" players. She sat down next to a man and presumably his girlfriend, not paying attention to the pair beside her, who were on the exact same machine as her. 

Emily sat on the chair, feeling her head already starting to pound from the mixture of smoke and all of the lights. She was winning some money, not a whole lot since the machine was not a real person, but non-the-less, she was practically pulling in a dollar winning with each hand. 

"Christ, we were playing on that machine, and you stole it from us. That's our money." She heard the gruff, annoying voice that she knew so well. She cringed, ultimately she tried to cash out and dash from the scene before his head turned but she couldn't leave during the middle of a round. "Oh, lucky day, it's just Fields the Freak." He smiled, facing her, a smirk on his face. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. 

"James." Emily shot him a shy smile, and returned to playing out final portion of the hand. She had every intention of getting up and searching for Ali once this hand was over.

"Oh no, you little dyke." He stopped Emily from cashing out, gripping onto her wrist tightly. "You won't slip away with my money that quick" His grip on her wrist tightened, but luckily for her she was saved. 

"Hey, how about you lay off?" Alison came behind Emily; Toby and Spencer watched it all unfold from behind Alison, her hand rested on the tanned girl's shoulder. She was giving James her best glare, feeling successful when he released Emily's wrist.

"Damn," he pushed the other girl off of him, letting her walk away, he licked his lips and looked Alison up and down, letting his eyes linger a little too long, "you even brought that sexy momma of yours." He shot Alison his best charming smile, something Alison herself found repulsive, "you come home with me, and I'll give you a thousand reasons you shouldn't be with this fucking weirdo." He pointed towards Emily, smirking proudly like he had just won an Olympic gold medal.

Alison felt an anger rise within her. She looked to Emily, who was just as stoic as she always was. "Look, James," her voice came out with a vengeance, but before she could continue, he interrupted her. 

"Say my name like that again babe." He closed his eyes, and it took everything in Alison not to slap him across the face. "Hey fruitcake, wanna watch me and your blonde get it on?" 

"You piece of shit. I would-"

"Alison. Just stop." Emily reached for Alison's hand, wanting to walk away and sooth her raging emotions. 

"Are you fucking kidding me, Emily?" Alison moved her hand away from Emily's, the brunette standing in another attempt to get the blonde from wreaking havoc on the entire casino. 

"Hey. You're not leaving until you give me my money." James reached for Emily's wrist again, spinning her towards him. 

"Win it from her." Spencer piped up. Trying to alleviate any kind of tension going on, because currently, it was a cluster fuck of emotions. 

"We get a private table, winner takes all?" 

Toby wanted to join in on their game of poker. Spencer and Alison decided on sitting in the room and watching the whole scene unfold. Alison watched Emily like a hawk, and every moment she thought about the events that occurred not all that long ago, the more angry she got with her. 

The stakes were fairly low, but not low enough to keep the game going on forever. Since Emily only had about seventy dollars they all agreed the stakes would be five dollars for small blind and ten for large blind. 

Even though Emily had the least amount of money on the table to put into play, she felt very confident that she would come away the winner. She always picked up on how people represented themselves at the table, and the little ticks they did when they were bluffing. Her dad taught her how to play, and usually every year at thanksgiving her entire family would play a game. 

Emily herself wasn't an expert by any means, but she had found her own rhythm for playing a game of poker. The key was to bet consistently, except for when you have a really shitty hand of course, then you get out. But she always went through the same motions whenever she was deciding the amount to bid, or if she wanted to fold. She peeked at her cards for six seconds, and then raise the pot relatively the same amount every time. It was the hardest way to make opponents read her. 

Toby's nose scrunched for the briefest of seconds when he was bluffing. And as for James, he licked his lips when he was bluffing. Both men seemed to be very generous with their bidding, most likely in James' case for him trying to establish his dominance. 

Toby was out first, unsurprisingly to himself, Spencer, and Emily. Emily and James went back and forth, neither coming out with a giant margin of victory, but that was definitely about to change. James set out a hefty bet when the first three cards flopped. 

Toby watched, sitting next to Spencer and a still fuming blonde. He wanted to crowd Emily and be up close for what was looking like the final dual, but he pretty much figured Emily would shoo him away. He was able to see the first three cards that flopped, an ace, a five, and a jack. He was nervous for Emily, seeing how much James raised the bet, and his nerves grew to see that she called it. A queen dropped next, earning yet another gracious bid from James, and Emily who ended up calling it. 

The final card flopped, another ace. "I'm all in." Toby noticed Emily took longer to look at her cards, really debating now how she should approach the last few interactions before this hand was completed. "C'mon no balls, are you in or you out?" He tapped his cards impatiently against the felt table. 

"I'm all in." She pushed her pile of cash towards the center and looked him in the eye. 

"What is she doing?" Spencer whispered, she too noticed how long it took Emily to decide what she was doing. 

"I think she's bluffing." He assumed, there wasn't really anything on the table for her to put all her eggs in one basket so to speak. "She might feel trapped." 

"What do you mean?" Alison asked, her eyes glancing at Emily very worriedly. 

"She's already bet so much on this hand. She'd have to work from basically nothing, again, in order to beat him." 

James bit on a straw in the corner of his mouth. "I've got more value in there." He pointed out. 

Emily thought for a moment, "I put Alison in the pot." Toby, Spencer, and Alison fell silent hearing the words that came out of Emily's mouth. 

"Can she fucking do that?" Alison's eye bugged out and she felt completely shocked and enraged that Emily would do such a stupid thing. 

"She just did." Toby gulped and watched as James emptied out his wallet onto the table. 

"Now it's fair." He smirked and glanced at Alison. He blew her a kiss, seeing how angry the blonde looked only fueled him more. "Winner takes the pot, deal?" He stuck his hand out to Emily, which she took and accepted the deal. 

James stood triumphantly and threw his cards, face-up onto the blue felted table. "Quad aces. Come to papi, hot momma." 

Toby made his way to Emily, and put his hands on her shoulders. Emily sat, her eyes fixed on the boastful man. Toby couldn't find a single thing to say to Emily right now. She had played the entire game perfectly, until this very moment. She lost a lot of money, and not to mention Alison was part of her losses too. 

"I'm going to kill you Emily!" Alison screamed, her fists balled in the air as she charged at the brunette, only to be caught by her best friend beside her. James started walking towards the blonde, who's fears were rising with ever step he took. 

Emily stood slowly and flipped her cards over, "royal flush."

The car ride home was silent on the behalf of Emily and Alison. Toby, started freaking out when they got in the car at how "badass" Emily was. After he calmed down, he and Spencer fell into conversation and occasionally sang along to the radio. Emily and Alison, were a different story.

Emily tried to grab the blonde's hand during the ride, only to have it yanked from her reach. She saw the scowl on Alison's face, and the look in her eyes. Even though she could only see the corners of Alison's eyes, she could see the fire burning a hole through whatever she looked at. 

When Toby dropped the pair off back at home, Alison left the car first, slamming the door and making it up to the front door before Emily was even unbuckled. Emily dug into her pocket and moved over into the middle seat. "Here." She leaned forward and handed Toby a wad of cash. 

"What? No, you won that." Toby tried shoving the money back towards Emily, but that was no use. 

She got Toby to accept his money and took a deep breath before she entered their house. She was used to people getting mad, angry, or frustrated with her. She could deal with that. Some people would just never understand her, or never want to understand her, but there were sometimes when she hated herself for making people despise her. For not being able to look at her. 

Her mother. 

Her father. 

Alison. 

And it was now, at a time like this, when she didn't exactly know what to do, what to say. She didn't exactly know where she went wrong, but she definitely knew that things needed fixing; that she was sure of. 

She locked the door and slipped off her shoes before she trekked upstairs to hers and Alison's bedroom. Emily unbuttoned her plaid shirt, starting to shed it off her shoulders as she entered the bedroom doorway. A firm hand pushed against her chest, pushing her back into the hallway. 

"I don't think so." Alison's sharp demeanor bursted through any shred of hope Emily had. "You can go take that off downstairs." She shoved a folded pile of pajamas and a blanket into Emily's torso. 

"Baby, come on-"

"I can't even look at you right now without wanting to tear your heart out." 

Alas, Emily went downstairs with her head bowed down to the dark brown carpet, and made herself comfortable on the couch. Alison had not provided her with a charger in her little 'kicked out' stack, as Emily labeled it. She waited a decent amount of time for Alison to have fallen asleep so she could slip in the room, grab the charger, and run back downstairs. 

Instead she entered into the room to hear the blonde sobbing and curled into a ball on her own side of the bed. Emily stood at the doorway, not entirely sure how she should handle the situation. Ultimately she decided to go with her gut. Cautiously, she moved to the bed and slowly sat down next to Alison. 

"Hey," Emily moved a wet strand of hair from Alison's soaking cheek, "you can be mad at me okay? I'm sorry." 

"I'm pissed at you, Emily." Alison sniffled and wiped her cheeks a few times to dry them. "Just get out."

"Do you really want me to leave, or do you want me to stay?"

"I said. Get. Out. " Alison interrupted. Emily gulped, she hadn't really seen Alison so worked up about anything. Emily stood and grabbed her charger off of the nightstand. She leaned down again and swept a hand through Alison's hair and kissed the side of her head. 

She got to the door and closed it halfway before she stuck her head back into the room. "Goodnight baby, I love you." She whispered and left the room with the click of the door closing. 

At work the following day, she had Spencer to talk things through with during lunch and a scheduled surgery they had together again. About ninety percent of the reason why she was so pissed at Emily last night, was because of last night. She couldn't even look at her sleeping this morning, because she knew she would instantly forgive her. The other ten percent, she felt like Emily was slowly distancing herself from Alison, and hadn't communicated with the blonde well for the past week.

Alison came home to an amazing smell floating around the house, but also a very silent house. It was something she surely anticipated that that would be the case tonight. She was ready to talk with Emily and forgive her just like the doctor, Spencer, had ordered. 

She noticed a note on the counter. She traced her fingers over Emily's scribbly writing, smiling at the fact that the brunette was still thoughtful, even when they were both hurting. Alison hadn't missed the sorrowful look on Emily's face when she kicked her out of their room last night; twice. 

'Lasagna is in the oven for you.'

She walked over to the door that lead down to the basement and to Emily's painting room. For the second time, she walked in on Emily crying while she attempted to paint. There was a plate, almost clean of lasagna on the corner of the small table. 

"Em?"

The brunette wiped the tears as best she could, and dipped her brush into the purple paint to continue with her brush strokes. "There's some food in the over for you." Emily didn't even look up at the blonde standing in the doorway. 

"Babe, what's wrong?" Alison moved into the room and took the brush from Emily's hands. 

"Nothing, I just..I let my mom down, I let my dad down, and I keep letting you down too." She watched the brunettes head go down in shame. Her hands cupped around Emily's ears and brought her face back up to face her own. 

"You didn't let me down. I'm just mad at you, okay?" Alison didn't know that Emily was so hard on herself. Ever since she was young, Emily has always strived to be perfect. Everything she did, she wanted it to be done efficiently and without a mistake. Her mother and father had no idea where she got it from, but in school, and in general life, sometimes it haunted her. 

"I'm sorry." 

"I know, and I'm sorry for kicking you out of the room last night, but you literally put me in the winner's pot last night, Emily." Her hands dropped to her sides, and she huffed out an annoyed breath. 

"I know, but I won. I knew I was going to win. I just wanted to win all the money so we could go home and then I could help you out more, and help my parents out." Emily rambled quickly, her hands shaking as she spoke. 

"Emily, you weren't guaranteed to win-" 

"But-" she interrupted and looked up at Alison with a hint of fear flickering in her eyes, "but I knew I won before the final card was shown. I had the best hand in the game." 

"Okay, well you can't just toss me around like that Em. And, you wouldn't let me stand up for you, and you didn't stand up for me. On top of all that, you've been off the past week. When something's bothering you please tell me, okay? You can always talk to me."

"Okay." She whispered, feeling Alison's hand grip her own and pull her to her feet. 

"Come on, come upstairs and cuddle with me." 

They curled up together on the couch, a non important movie thrown on the television. Emily concentrated on Alison's fingers, playing with them almost as if she was trying to cement each crevice of Alison's fingers into her brain. 

"We're okay?" Emily whispered, once a commercial finally interrupted the movie. 

"We're more than okay, babe." Alison moved further into the brunettes side, kissed the girl's cheek and put her head back onto the strong yet comfortable shoulder. 

Both girls were happy that they talked through their argument. Mostly Emily because then she could go back to sleeping in the comfiest bed. But also because a little relief was lifted off her shoulders in regards to disappointing Alison. 

Alison totally didn't understand cards, but she believed Emily. She understood that Emily didn't want to fight with James, because it only made his antics worse. Emily saw things way differently than Alison always had, whether it was good or bad, Alison always learned a little something about Emily every time they disagreed or Emily tried explaining things to her. 

Emily thought in a different manner than Alison always had, in ways she would never think in her life. She's always drawn it up as Emily being outcasted and alone, but it wasn't a bad thing. Because Emily was smart and thoughtful. Sometimes she made mistakes, like last night, but she was different. A good different. She always set out to make her last mistake the last one she would ever make in her life. 

Alison learned from the now sleeping brunette laying so peacefully next to her, not just learn information about herself. She knew a lot more about other people, like traits people do in different situations. She found herself slowly starting to think in different ways, and thinking of her decision outcome, exactly like Emily would. 

If she was being honest, Alison felt extremely gifted to be in the presence of Emily. She would soak it all in, every single day, for he rest of her life.

The following morning Emily woke Alison up with a tray of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Alison felt a gigantic beam of happiness flood through her. It was something that happened quite often whenever Emily was around. 

Alison placed the tray on the nightstand and pushed Emily down on the bed. She straddled Emily's hips and hovered over the brown eyed beauty. Emily's hands landed on Alison's hips, guiding them where Emily was craving friction. Emily's head fell back into the pillow, soft groans slipped past Emily's lips that drove Alison absolutely crazy. 

"I think," Alison whispered, trailing her hand down Emily's chest, "someone else, wants some breakfast too." Her fingers hooked underneath Emily's shorts and pulled them down as far as she could while she was still on top of Emily. She smirked when she saw that Emily didn't have any boxers on, allowing such easy access to her half hardened member. 

She slid down the tanned girl's toned legs and slid the basketball shorts past her ankles to discard them on the floor. She took Emily's member into her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip. A loud moan filled the room. 

Emily pulled Alison up to her lips, her hands tangling into the blonde's hair. She flipped positions and settled on top of Alison's lips. She pulled off the girl's shirt and placed kisses all over the exposed skin as she pulled down Alison's pajama pants.

"Seriously, how are you so beautiful?" Emily's voice husked out before she leaned down to kiss the blonde that she was just ravishing. 

"You're pretty easy on the eyes too." Alison held her gaze with Emily, their eyes both held a flickers of happiness, excitement, and endearment. 

Emily was gentle, and so loving. They both took care of each others needs, even though they were both hungry for one another, it was a soft love fest this morning compared to previous ones. 

Emily's breath hit her face rapidly as she tried to regain her breath. They kept theirs eyes locked on one another. Alison gripped onto Emily's face, her thumbs brushing over her ear. 

"You are so good to me, Emily Fields." She searched Emily's eyes, looking to see if the girl above her believed her. "Never forget that." 

They shared tender kisses, not even speaking to one another, basking in their happiness together. Their bodies warm and feeling like they were drifting on clouds together, each girl found it incredibly difficult to peel away from the other to get ready for work. 

The sheets were tousled, the pancakes and bacon were long forgotten. To both girls, it was still a perfect morning. 

Even if they were both late for work.


	19. Chapter 19

It was now a week later, and Emily had been up and down with her mood. She tried a bit harder, but to Alison, it was virtually the same as the week before. Alison started brainstorming some plans for Emily's birthday that was later on next week. She wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to plan for Emily quite yet, but she had a solid idea.

Emily had to work the night shift tonight, and got placed on the afternoon shift for tomorrow. Emily took the day to run errands, and then when she got home she would go down to paint in her little area to get some of that work done, before she had to get ready for work at the station.

Meanwhile, Alison had been having an inner debate with herself. She had been wanting to call Pam for a while now, practically since the beginning of last week. She felt bad because she didn't want Emily to feel like she was going behind her back or anything, but Alison needed to talk to Pam about Emily.

She had a surgery tonight, that was likely to take her well past eight o clock, so she figured after she was finished that would be the perfect time to call up Emily's mother.

Alison got out to her car, and turned the vehicle on, but she hadn't left the parking lot of the hospital. She dialed Pam now, seeing it that she was probably just finishing up dinner for Wayne and herself. She watched the LED sign out by the road change colors and messages with every ring.

"Hey honey!" She could hear some clanging of pots and pans, confirming that Pam was indeed making dinner. Alison chuckled, ever since Pam and Alison have started getting closer, Pam had been using terms her own mother would use to address her. "How have you been?"

"I'm good." She sighed and licked her lips. "I just wanted to talk to you about Emily."

"Oh." She heard Pam suck in a breath, the line was silent for a second. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. No." Alison sighed again and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. She's just been extremely distant lately. And last week she was crying because I was so mad at her. I kicked her out of the bedroom, and made her sleep on the couch." Ali explain, feeling guilty about it all over again.

"Oh, Ali, Emily is very hard on herself. She has this," she paused, trying to find the right words to explain Emily's behavior, "she has this compulsive drive to be perfect. She gets stressed out and either cries or camps out in a room for a while. One time she sat in her room for a week because she dropped a pass during a game. Another time she cried for three hours because she forgot to pick up milk for me at the store. Sometimes she wouldn't even come down for dinner, Wayne or myself would have to go bring it up to her. It's her just kind of shutting down, there's no real timetable for how long they last, but it will pass."

"So, it's probably nothing I did?" For some reason, she needed to hear Pam say it wasn't her fault for Emily's behavior.

"No." Pam chuckled, as she continued to prepare the dish she was making. "Just give her a hug, and tell her everything is fine, it's going to be okay, and she'll be alright. Ice cream or pizza helps out a lot." Alison could just imagine Pam's smile on her face as they talked; Emily loved pizza about as much as anything in her life.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to let you get back to dinner and I'm going to go home and see Em quick before she heads off to work. Thank you, Pam."

"Any time. Love you dear. Give Em a hug for me."

Alison pulled out of the parking lot, feeling a lot better now than she had practically the past two weeks. Sure, just a few nights ago the couple went out to a movie, and they always shared couch cuddles before bed, but deep down Alison thought her actions caused Emily to be so off.

Alison set her keys on the hook next to the door, and slipped her shoes off just as Emily was walking down stairs. "Hey, I thought you'd be home sooner." Emily was still clipping a few unknown items, to Alison, on her belt as she neared the blonde.

"Yeah, I just got a little caught up at work." Alison smiled, letting her eyes rake over Emily in her uniform. Ever since the first time she saw the brunette in uniform, she was undoubtedly hooked. Alison opened her arms, wanting Emily to walk right into her arms, just like Pam had told Alison to do.

To her delight, she did exactly that. Emily even sneaked in a quick kiss before she completely broke away from the blonde and headed towards the kitchen. "Hey, you're off tomorrow, right?" Emily's voice got lighter and lighter as she walked further into the kitchen.

"Uhh, yeah." Alison followed after the taller woman.

"Okay, cool." Emily had the fridge door open as she was digging through it for some food to bring for her shift. "We're going on a morning date before I have to go to work in the afternoon then." Emily said, her voice slightly muffled due to the shuffling in the fridge. She pulled out a turkey sandwich and a water bottle, kissed Alison one final time, and left for work.

Emily came home, to Alison still sleeping. She swept her hand over Alison's hair line before she leaned down a placed a soft kiss on the blonde's forehead before she climbed into the shower. She got dressed into one of Alison's favorite outfits of hers, black skinny jeans with a dark blue and red plaid shirt.

She held Alison's hand in the car, turning up the radio every time Alison asked where they were going. She would kiss the back of Alison's hand, crank up the music, and start singing along: not bothering to give into Alison's frequent requests to know where they were going.

They stopped very quickly at the local coffee shop, to grab a couple breakfast sandwiches and a coffee for the blonde herself. When Emily pulled into their date destination, Alison was puzzled to say the least.

"Em, what are we doing here?" Alison's eyebrows raised. Almost as if saying, 'you can't be fucking serious Emily.' But she was in fact dead serious. Emily got out of the truck, smiling wide at Alison practically forcing her girlfriend to immediately settle her nerves.

"Emily I've never shot a gun in my life."

"You need to learn how to protect yourself, just in case." Emily smiled and kissed Alison's cheek before dragging Alison inside.

Alison whined for the better part of the time it took Emily to get everything straightened in the indoor shooting range. They were the only ones there at this time in the morning, but Emily still put her ear plugs in immediately, which ultimately muffled out Alison's whining. Emily turned to the pouting blonde, with a smile as she slipped on ear muffs and safety glasses for Alison.

"You look cute." Emily beamed again, turning her attention back onto the two guns set out in front of her. "You'll love it Ali, I promise."

Emily shot first as Alison watched from behind her girlfriend so she could see what she had to do. Emily was right, she did love it, just because seeing Emily shoot guns was so hot. Alison was very impressed with Emily's shooting, but she honestly should've expected it. She is a police officer, and she's probably been shooting guns since she was very young. After watching Emily shoot almost fifteen perfect shots, only two barely missed the bulls-eye, and seeing the kick the gun Emily was using had Alison became even more nervous and a little scared.

Of course Emily could see the fear immediately in Ali's eyes when she turned to face her. "Don't worry, you're going to shoot a different gun."

Emily moved the nine millimeter over to Alison so she could show her everything on the gun. She helped Alison load up the clips for the gun. Each clip contained seven bullets while Emily loaded one into the chamber to round off Alison's first shooting rounds to fifteen. Alison clicked the safety off, and held her arms straight out.

"Wait." Emily quickly reached to put the safety back on so Ali could get comfortable with the gun first. Alison's hand had to be clear of the beaver tail on the gun. Alison had smaller hands than Emily did, so the gun probably fit into her hands perfectly. Emily stood behind Alison, helping her guide her arms for a better shooting posture. Emily told her to pull the trigger, wanting her to get a feeling of a smooth trigger pull so she didn't anticipate the kick back. Alison squealed, thinking the gun was supposed to go off, but she didn't realize the safety was on.

"Hey," Emily softly spoke into Alison's ears, "it's okay. It's not going to hurt you."

Alison felt the warmth of Emily's hands on top of her own, she took a deep breath, and tried to relax. Emily clicked the safety off, and told Alison to pull the trigger whenever she was ready.

As soon as they got back home, Emily started taking both guns apart so she could properly clean them. Meanwhile, Alison was down in the basement rummaging through some boxes.

"There." Alison beamed, fixing the frame perfectly on the wall. An old frame in her right hand as she backed away from the new frame on the wall, taking in the look of the new decor piece. Emily looked up at Alison and followed her gaze to the new piece hanging on the wall beside the televison. Emily smiled, and returned to working on the Ruger forty five in her hands. She felt a dip in the couch next to her, arms wrap around her neck, and a kiss on the cheek.

"See, I told you you'd love it." Emily craned her neck to face Alison, smirking, before she reciprocated a kiss to the cheek.

Alison was adamant about taking back the little paper target she shot at. Emily had intended to take it back home with them, but Alison was so excited about the entire thing. The whole ride home she talked about how much fun she had. Mostly, she felt pure afterwards. She was with Emily, who always made her feel pure, but that wasn't the only reason. She felt like everything negative seeped away. With every speck of gunpowder that landed on her skin, it was like it soaked up everything inessential. There was no anger, there were no worries, there was not a single trace of doubt left in her system after she fired off so many bullets. It was soothing for her. Even though she had about fifteen shots on the paper from the entire shooting session, that's not really what significant value the paper had.

The paper marked Emily's value to Alison more than anything.

She cheered for the blonde every time a bullet pierced the paper. She had so much patience for the blonde while she was reloading bullets, putting a new clip in the gun, and getting comfortable with the gun. Emily wanted her to feel like she was doing it all, so after she shot through her first clip, Emily stood back and supervised over Alison for the rest of time. She only butted in when it was necessary, or helped when Alison asked for it.

Alison called her parents, finding herself extremely bored. She tidied up the house a bit, got some laundry done, and then settled into the couch and started watching some television. Her parents were a little skeptical at first, Alison going to a shooting range, but they both seemed to settle down when Alison explained how well Emily tended to Alison at the range. She was so professional like. Not long after she hung up with her parents, Alison received a text from Pam.

'Looks like you had a good time at the range. Love you.'

Emily was going to get back home around seven. Her shift was from one to seven, and Alison knew that Emily would be tired since she hadn't napped at all, but she still wanted to do something to repay Emily back for this morning. Emily sluggishly walked through the door, her boots falling over after she took them off her feet. She was exhausted. Mentally. Physically. She walked up the stairs into the bedroom, stripped, and fell into bed.

Alison heard the front door open and close, but was ultimately confused when Emily didn't come into the kitchen to find her. Couldn't she smell the pizza when she walked in the door? With what she was wearing, Emily wasn't going to get excited about the pizza anyhow. After a minute she took the pizza box and ventured to the living room to find it empty. She figured Emily went up to bed, so Alison locked the doors and turned off all the lights before she too ventured up stairs with a pizza box in hand.

"Em?" She whispered, seeing the brunette in bed with her eyes closed. If Emily was still awake, she had all the intent of rewarding her. That is, if she had enough energy.

"Hmm?" She mumbled out, rolling over to face Alison but not bothering to open her eyes.

"Em." She said more forcefully, setting the pizza box on the night table. Emily's eyes slowly opened. She blinked a few times before her eyes went wide and her eyes darkened. The brunette sat up on her elbows, the comforter slipping down her body to reveal the top of her half naked body. "That's what I thought." Alison smirked, striding over to the bed and climbing on top of the brunette. Emily's hands wandered, much like they had when they were first intimate with one another. Emily's cold hands trailed up to Alison's breasts, goosebumps collected on the girl's skin a mixture between pleasure, anticipation, and the brunette's chilly hands.

Emily's eyes raked over Alison, she felt like it really was her first time seeing her bare of clothes again. Technically, it was Emily's first time seeing Ali like this, it was even her first time seeing anyone like this. Alison was wearing maroon colored lingerie. It was a sight for Emily. Alison watched the girl underneath her as her hands trailed slowly up and down the awestruck woman's toned stomach. Emily's eyes held innocence, and a strong dose of lust, but Alison could still see sleepiness in the brown doe eyes that she adored so much.

"Tonight, I'm going to take care of you." Alison whispered and leaned down to finally meet Emily's lips. Alison maneuvered her body so she could shed the rest of the comforter down Emily's body. She settled back on top of Emily's throbbing arousal, feeling the tan girl's hands travelling down to her ass, giving it a gracious squeeze, as she reached into the bottom drawer of the night stand. 

Emily's hips slowly rocked against Alison's core, the blonde's brain becoming a puddle. She almost said fuck it, but tonight she wanted to change things up a bit. Emily leaned into Alison, their chests heaving together in a perfect harmony. A pair of soft lips hit her neck with Emily delicately drawing patterns against it with her tongue, Alison threw her head back, marveling in the feeling of Emily's heightened libido. She reached down to pry Emily's hands off her ass, taking Emily's hands in her own and slamming them down on the mattress above her own head. "Tonight, you're at my mercy." She leaned down, her head on the side of Emily's so she could whisper into the frustrated brunette's ear. She clipped the fuzzy handcuffs onto both of Emily's wrists and clamped her to the headboard.

"You smell so fucking good." Alison didn't recognize the scent. Emily must've picked up a new fragrance, and Alison indubitably found it mesmerizing. She loved Emily's scent, and this new scent was just a cherry on top.

Alison teased the brunette, her hand getting dangerously close to Emily's hardened shaft then purposely popping the waist band of her boxers. The sounds Emily was making drove Alison insane. She had no idea if she could withstand Emily whimpering and moaning the way she was. All she wanted was to feel Emily's fingers, or tongue dancing along her entire body. Emily's touch ignited her.

"You don't do so well letting me have all the control, do you?" Their bodies were sticking together, with Alison laying directly on top of Emily, drawing numerous sayings and pictures on the brunette's collarbone. Before Alison could even make Emily reach her orgasm, she took the cuffs off of Emily. Emily's dirty talk did things to her, and she wasn't able to function the way she wanted to. And really, she wanted Emily to do everything she was promising to do to her.

"Hmm." Emily husked out groggily. "You unhooked me, I just took advantage of my opportunity." Alison pushed herself off the brunette so she could peek at her face. Emily had the cutest little sleepy smile, it was very lazy like, but oh so adorable. "Plus, I didn't hear you complain. Not once. Not twice. You get my point, right?"

Alison fell back into the brunette, smiling. She was absolutely high off today. She smiled into Emily's shoulder, gently kissing it. "Do you want some pizza?"

"I already ate." Emily whispered seductively and squeezed Alison's ass, just for good measure.

"Ugh." Alison groaned, her head emphatically dropping onto Emily's shoulders. A laugh squeaked past her lips. "You're alluring. You really are unbelievable." She waited, expecting Emily to come back with some snide remark.

Emily didn't answer, Alison fully believing that she already fell asleep. She sighed, not wanting to leave the warmth of the brunette to shower. Two droplets hit her hand, she shook it off to be sweat dripping off Emily's jaw and onto her hand, but when it happened again she knew it wasn't sweat.

She lifted her head off of Emily's chest again, seeing that the brunette had tears cascading down her cheeks. "Em?" Her thumb grazed across the base of Emily's neck.o

"I love you, Alison DiLaurentis." Emily whispered, her hand coming to a rest on the dip of Alison's back. Her fingers flexed against her back before slowly moving back up Alison's bare back and cupping her cheek.

"You really need some sleep, you're turning into a bigger sap than me." Alison joked, her heart wanting to explode with overjoy. Emily really loved her like no one else. They way she took care of her, the way she looked at her, the words she spoke to her..it was what everyone was looking for. It was something everyone envied about couples just like Emily and Alison. "Go to sleep."

Alison leaned in, being met halfway by Emily. Their lips moved together perfectly. Both of their bodies heating up again, just after they finally cooled down. Emily's tears dripped onto Alison's cheeks. Her hands gripping Alison's hips, her thumbs rubbing circles into the soft flesh on her hips.

Alison's tongue shot into Emily's mouth, their tongues clashing, both girls needing to explore, feel, every inch of one another. Alison placed her hand on Emily's chest and pushed herself away from the brunette. "I love you too. Goodnight babe." She crawled off Emily, hearing her groan before he heard a muttered back 'goodnight.'

The following night, Emily requested that Alison get dressed, in whatever she felt the most comfortable; but made a small request that the clothes be warm.

Alison was surprised with a beautifully set up dinner on the roof of the tallest building in Rosewood. Candles and flowers were perfectly placed on the small table and lit a path filled with rose pedals. The night was perfect in every sense. They ate one of Alison's favorite foods, chicken parmesan.

The stars were out. It was chilly outside, enough to be able to see their breaths, but neither Emily nor Alison were cold. The candles, and their own warm energy was enough to keep one another warm. It was an epitome of a perfectly beautiful night. It was a dream night for Alison.

Emily dropped her eyes to her own plate, moving the food around that was still left on it. Her fingers now getting cold. She watched Alison take a sip of her wine, her attention on the city below them. She always thought Alison looked so beautiful but it was always moment like this, where Alison was not paying attention or simply watching television where her beauty really shined.

Emily felt her heart nearly rip in half. Her hand slid across the table. Alison turned her attention back on her, but Emily was only able to muster up a half assed smile, her eyes emitting sympathy. Emily retracted her hands, wringing them, waiting Alison's reaction.

"Em, what's this?" Alison picked up the key, thinking it was a new place, or new adventure for the two to explore. That maybe it was the entire reason for tonight. But once she recognized the engraved writing on the key, her heart skipped a beat. Multiple beats. "No." She breathed out, looking up into brown eyes that were sparkling with tears.

"I'm sorry." The brunette managed to whisper out. She pulled at her eyelids, clearing the tears from them. She told herself that she wasn't going to cry. "I love you, so very much." She choked out again, the tears coming straight back to her eyes.

"Then why are you doing this?" Alison started to become frantic. This was worse than any nightmare she could've imagined.

"You'll understand soon enough." She pushed her chair back and stood, placing the napkin that was on her lap back on the table, and ready to walk away from the love of her life for the last time.

Alison's small hand tightly gripped onto Emily's wrist. "No." Gone were Alison's tears of sorrow, and freshly in were the tears of pure anger. She wanted answers, and she was going to get them. "Tell me." She ordered as best she could through her tears. "Tell me right now Emily Fields. Tell me why you are doing this." Her hands balled into fists and slammed into Emily's chest.

Emily looked into her favorite shade of blue. Alison's eyes were something magical and undoubtedly special. "I'm softening the blow. I can't let you get more hurt than you would if I let this go on any longer."

"You..." Alison's tears reached a point of no return. They were leaving her cheeks so fast, she couldn't wipe fast enough to keep her cheeks dry. "You never loved me?"

Emily took Alison's face in her hands, her eyes trying to plead with Alison. Her thumbs were on the girl's cheeks, rubbing away her tears, her fingers flexed against Alison's warm cheeks. "I love you. I'm doing this because I love you. Okay? I love you so, so, much baby. I will love you for the rest of time."

"So love me. Love me for eternity." Alison leaned forward, her forehead gently connecting with Emily's and her eyes closed. "Please, don't leave."

Their lips were only centimeters apart, but it felt like miles to Alison. "You'll always have a part of me." Emily whispered, before leaning forward to gently kiss Alison one last time. She really had no self control. One last time she told herself, so she could cherish it forever.

Alison relished in the feeling. She was so caught up in it all, she barely felt Emily slip from her grasp. She ran towards the fleeing brunette, grabbing her arm again to stop her. "I deserve to know. If I meant as much as you say I did to you, then I deserve to know."

"Alison," Emily smiled. Alison noticed the tears that Emily was trying to hold back, and the ones that she failed to hold back. "I'm doing this to protect you from getting hurt."

"You're hurting me now!" Her arms flailed out to her side before emphatically hitting her thighs. She heard Emily sigh, as she watched the girl who was very clearly in some distress.

"Alison, baby," Emily knew that this was going to crush her, but once she dropped the bomb on Alison, she knew it would be catastrophic. "I'm sick. I'm sick baby." Emily's thumbs ran across Alison's cheeks again, clearing the never ending streams.

Alison felt like she got kicked in the stomach.

She felt blindsided.

This wasn't real.

The air she was breathing was suddenly sucked away from her. Snatched, like an older child toying with a little kid. Emily's words kept repeating over and over in her head. 'I'm sick.' "No, no you're not." Now she really wanted this to be a dream, because now it honestly couldn't get any worse. "We'll-"

"I have stage four Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma." The air felt like it was completely sucked from Alison's lungs.

"Okay, but you're going to be okay. You have to be. With treatment you'll get better, and we can go on with our lives."

Emily stood in silence, watching Alison's face shift from the smallest bit of hope and dwindle down to the dark abyss of nothingness.

"You have options, right?" Emily nodded slightly, knowing she couldn't lie to the blonde, but she didn't want to tell her. "Okay, okay. We'll get you the best doctors and, and I will help you."

"Ali." Emily whispered, gripping onto Alison's shaking hands and snapping her out of her chaotic brain from beginning to ramble and to stop Alison from going into doctor mode. Once Alison's eyes were on her, she shook her head.

Ali swore her heart stopped. "No. You can't give up. You have to fight Emily! You have to." Again she became erratic.

"Ali, I did this already." She pulled Alison in for a hug, the blonde's tears soaking into her shirt. "I had stage two when I was in high school. I got my second chance. I changed people's lives; I've done everything I've wanted too. I got to play football again. I met the one love in my lifetime. I got my happily ever after." How could someone so kind, caring, and generous have something so awful happen to them? Twice.

"Emily, please. I can't lose you." Emily could barely distinguish what Ali said, her sobs hindered her ability speak. To think. To feel anything but destroyed.

"You won't." Emily kissed the top of Alison's head, cradling the back of her hair and running her fingers across her wavy hair. "I'm always with you."

It all made sense now to Alison. Quitting school. Graduating college so quickly. The debt. The extreme kindness Emily had. The overworking. The past behavior. The gun range. Pam and Wayne always being so worried whether she was okay or not. The sleeping. Her eating patterns. Her disliking for hospitals. Even her "colds" made sense. Why didn't she see this before? She's a damn doctor for crying out loud, and she missed all the symptoms. Every single moment she missed flashed in her memory

"I already ate." She heard something of that variation, or lacked seeing Emily actually eat numerous amounts of times.

"Hospitals seem to just suck the life, the joy, right out of people. You could say I am one of those unlucky people. But I would do anything to see you."

The thermometer read 101.4 degrees. Even the last time Emily had a "cold" the bug that Alison herself gave her, nonetheless, her temperature was high again.

"Jesus Em. You know the drill. I'll get the ice pack." She set the thermometer that read 103.1 on the table.

Friday night, she felt like she could physically feel the little red flag smacking her in the face when sitting next to Emily. But, she also knew from experience that it wasn't necessarily a red flag. There could be numerous possibilities to this little 'red flag' so to speak. She wanted to pressure Emily into telling her about her 'life' excuse in home schooling. Now she really hated herself for not incessantly asking. All she wanted to do was give Emily space, but look where that led them. She finally found the little red flag.

"Life." Emily cut the blonde's rambling off and sighed. She should've known then. It wasn't just a normal sigh. Alison could still hear it today, like it happened yesterday because she had never heard anyone sigh like that before. You could hear the pain ripple its way from the pit of Emily's stomach and through the sigh. The things she should've done.

"How bad?" It killed Alison to even ask the question. She didn't really want to think about a world without Emily. She couldn't even imagine one now. How the hell did she survive without her before?

"Stage four."

Somehow, Alison found a little sense of humor, letting out the slightest chuckle. "Has it spread? How long did they give you? Those kinds of things, you dork."

"It's not good." Emily whispered, squeezing Alison a little tighter against her body. "I was going to fly out, and spend the rest of my numbered days with my parents. I haven't told them yet."

"Emily." Alison could only imagine the reaction from Pam and Wayne. She knew they would both be distraught. "Your parents are going to be devastated. Please, fight. Fight for them. Fight for me." She begged. Emily couldn't give up, it wasn't in her nature to give up.

"I can't leave my parents with more debt when I die." Emily reached down for Alison's hands, interlocking their fingers while they still hugged. "You can't remember me like that."

"I will help you. My parents will help you." Alison pulled away, tearing one hand away from Emily's to wipe her tears, while the other held on for dear life. "I will always remember every single detail about you, when you die from old age."

Alison smiled at the brunette, watching the girl's brown eyes twinkle. Alison's free hand now resting gently on the girl's cheek, her thumb dancing along the girl's jaw. "You're not breaking up with me. You're not dying. Because no matter what happens, I'm going to bawl my eyes out. You need me as much as I need you." She ran her thumb along Emily's sharp jawline, "you need someone in you corner through this. I'm going to be there." After another moment of silence, her voice shook as she choked out, "please."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Emily felt herself start to ramble, letting herself give into Alison. She actually never wanted to leave Alison, but she felt like she was obligated to minimize the damage. It's exactly what her brain has been doing the past few days. She didn't really know what to think, or exactly what to do. But when she came to this decision, it was the best she could think of. "I've already used up my coverage, and I'm in massive debt. And I'm not going to be myself. I mean most of the time. Sometimes-"

Emily was effectively cut off from rambling by Alison's warm and soft lips. Their bodies fell in a perfect harmony together. Their tears dripping onto each others cheeks.

"You've been here for me whenever I needed you. A loss of a patient, a fight with Spencer, a fight with my parents, even a fight with you. You were here for me, somehow, when I lost my brother and I wouldn't let you be there. You are so strong. You've let me lean on you since I met you. Let me do the same for you." Alison's tears running down her cheeks at tenfold.

Emily nodded, connecting their lips once again.

"Marry me?" Alison blurted, the words just spilling out of her mouth before her brain could catch up.

"What?" Emily breathed, her eyes snapping open to look at the blue ones staring back at her. Their forehead's still compressed, Alison's fingers still digging into Emily's neck.

"I have good health insurance, great health insurance. It'll help you out as well as money. Then we can set up fundraisers and what not." Ali herself started to feel her brain go off in a thousand different directions, what she needed to do to get them married and some fundraising ideas for Emily.

"Ali," Emily sympathetically smiled at the blonde, putting her hands on top of Ali's, bringing them down from her face. "I can't..." Alison's face fell, but Emily was quick to explain. "I can't leave you a widow."

"Em." Ali's once dry cheeks for a moment, now spilled with two fresh tears.

"It's bad enough that I thought breaking up with you would be best, but I can't, I just can't marry you and die three months later." Alison laughed through a sob, pulled her hands away from Emily and wiped her tears.

"God, you're so stupid sometimes." Both girl's chuckling at the small teasing aimed at the brunette. "You're not going to die."

"If I survive..." the brunette cleared her throat, and searching for Alison's hand again, "I will get a ring, I will get down on one knee, and then you can do the same at some fancy restaurant or something, because I know that's how you are. Deal?"

"Deal." Alison leaned in for another kiss, loving the feeling of Emily's lips, and Emily's arms wrapped gently around her waist, holding their bodies flush. "Let's get home, it's getting cold out."

Emily interlocked their fingers, and pulled Alison into her side while they walked side by side so she could kiss the blonde's temple. "I love you, and I'm sorry." She whispered into the curly blonde locks of her girlfriend.

"Hey, no worries babe." But there were a ton of worries.

Emily opened the car door for Alison, before she walked around the front of the vehicle and slid into the drivers side. The two sat in silence on the ride home. The radio stayed off, as the two had their brain running wild with thoughts.

"No Super Bowl, I guess." Emily mumbled when they came to a red light.

The next morning Alison woke early for work. She took her time exiting the bed, taking in every peaceful feature about Emily. Tears slipped down her cheeks just looking at her. She pushed a strand of hair off of Emily's face, and ran her thumb along Emily's cheek and over her lips. She could feel Emily's breath against her thumb, something so simple, she would hold with her forever. Alison took in every detail of Emily's face for minutes, waiting for her second alarm to go off before she got out of bed. After getting ready for work, Alison placed a gentle kiss on Emily's parted lips before heading out of the house.

"Long night?" Spencer asked, her eyebrows bouncing with a knowing smirk on her face. Alison was in the attending's lounge sitting at the desk with her head resting on the table. Alison had been watching the clock all day, waiting for it to strike seven so she could go home and spend time with the tanned brunette she had been thinking about all day. Only twenty more minutes, Alison chanted to herself.

Emily stayed up all night explaining things to Alison. Emily told the blonde a lot about the first time she was diagnosed. It was how her father became paralyzed. They were doing tests on Emily, the doctors found out that it was cancer and Pam called up Wayne in hysterics. He was out on a call, and sped towards the hospital. One thing led to another and Wayne ended up in a bad accident; he ended up swerving out of the way of civilians, and into a tree.

Emily explained everything she knew her condition this time around. She had already gone to the bank about another loan, but they wouldn't grant her another big loan since she still had a huge chunk to pay off from the last time, and she still had other debts to pay. The doctors said they needed to hit the treatments hard. The first time wasn't so bad, but this time Emily's cycle was going to be every three weeks, where she received treatment every other day and two times a day. Emily was going to be receiving radiation three or four times a week for a couple spots that traveled to her lungs. The immense amount of stress she was going to put on her body, led her doctors to believe that Emily should receive treatments while she was considered as an inpatient role.

The way Emily was so positive about the whole situation was unreal to Alison. Even when they were on the roof together, Emily was as composed as on could be, and seemed so grateful for what she's fulfilled in her life and everything she got. She deserves more time on earth than any human who will out live her, but hopefully she has a long, long run, with Alison by her side.

"What? She do something stupid? Want me to attempt to kick her ass?" Spencer chuckled, and walked towards the fridge. When she turned around after retrieving her lunch and her eyes met with some puffy and red eyes, her own emotions flipped. "We'll go out, have some drinks, and figure everything out okay?"

"Let me check with Emily." Alison fished in her pocket for her phone. She knew Emily was going to have another rough day. She decided today she would call her parents and deliver the news, that was more than likely to cause emotions to spill again.

"Ali?" Spencer started hesitantly, feeling like she was about to overstep a boundary. "Did she, is she hurting you?"

She wanted to laugh at Spencer. She really did. How could she even believe that Emily could hurt her? How could Emily hurt anyone? "Spence, I need a couple drinks before I can say anything." She dialed Emily's number, "excuse me for a second." She mumbled, walking into the hallway and down to an on-call room so she could speak privately to her girlfriend.

Emily had yet to break the news to her parents. She knew her mother got home at five, and they ate shortly after. She didn't want to ruin her parents night, but who was she kidding? No matter when she told them, it would destroy them. Again. Just like the first time. Her parents were emotional wrecks, they were terrified. Her father was just in a major accident, forever changing his life along with her mother's, meanwhile there was a chance they could lose their only child.

She had been putting off making the call all day. When her phone rang, she thought it was her mom, catching another one of her brain waves. "Oh, hey baby." Emily answered her phone realizing that it was just her favorite blonde calling her.

"Hey." Emily could hear the sympathy in Alison's voice, something that she made a mental note of to talk to the blonde later about. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Emily cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair. "I ran some errands today, so I haven't told them yet."

"Oh. Do you want me to be home with you then? Spencer wanted to go out tonight because she can tell something is up, so we could talk, but I can tell her that I can't."

"No," Emily smiled, playing with a loose thread on the hem of her shirt, "go. There's only going to be many, many tears here. Plus, Toby just found out today, so I'm sure he's going to tell her. I'm sure she'd like to hear from you."

"Are you sure babe?"

"Yeah. I'm going to call my parents. Can we talk when you get home?" Emily didn't want Alison to change her whole life around for her even though it was inevitable.

"Of course. I'll be home by ten? Call if you need anything okay? Love you."

"I love you too. Try to have fun. Don't worry about me."

Emily still couldn't find the words, or even how she would tell her mom and dad when she were to finally call them. She decided to swallow her fears and call her parents. She'd just have to go with the flow.

Her mother and father were both ecstatic to get her call, effectively pulling on her heartstrings for her parents. They talked like nothing was wrong. Like nothing was about to blow their family to shreds for the third time, in a short six, almost seven years.

To say that they were both crushed by the news a total understatement. Her mother bawled. Her father cried. She cried. Her parents' sobs broke her down. For thirty minutes of her call, the three of them sat in silence. No words being spoken. Just way too many heart wrenching sobs and sniffles were exchanged. It hurt her to have the three people in her life just absolutely obliterated by the news she received earlier this fateful week.

Pam started to go into panic mode, much like Alison had. She was worried about basically everything. Mostly, that she needed to work, but she also needed to be by Emily's side through it all, something that was not likely to happen.

She talked to her mom, forcing herself to be calm so her parents would hopefully be too, telling her parents every detail she knew and everything Alison was willing to do for her, including a promise that Jessica and Kenneth would find a way to help out. Both Pam and Wayne were so grateful to know that Alison, and even Jessica and Kenneth, would be there for Emily when they couldn't.

"You've had three drinks now. Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Spencer pushed the subject again, taking a long sip of her mixed drink.

"Spencer, can you just-" At this point, Alison was getting irritated with practically everything. She was in such a fowl mood, everything that was going on-she felt like the world was pinning it all against her.

"Ali, you gotta talk to someone because you're not even remotely yourself. If Emily did something-"

"She has cancer Spence." Alison held back a sob, her voice coming out as something between a mangled breath and a sob. She felt terrible. She was a god damn doctor and she missed every sign her girlfriend showed. How could she not feel guilty?

The noise in the bar suddenly seemed to cease to exist for Spencer. Did she really just say that Emily had cancer? Her own heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Spencer couldn't formulate a damn thing to say. She was stuck in her own head.

She took long drinks from her glass in front of her. She wondered how the fuck Alison worked today. More so, how the hell she even managed to get out of bed and leave Emily this morning. God knows, she never would have.

"Damn, and I was going to tell you Toby proposed last night. Some fucking luck we have." Spencer whispered, her fingers ripping small pieces off of her napkin, not wanting to look Alison in the eye. She would've lost it, and she wasn't all that close to Emily. She didn't even know what the tall football player's favorite color was. But she knew how happy Emily made her best friend. That there, was enough to treat Emily like another best friend. But she also has seen first hand, how amazing Emily actually was.

Spencer was walking down the sidewalk, thoroughly enjoying the warm sunshine on a beautiful day like today. She exited her favorite coffee shop, holding the door open for the most adorable old couple.

She took a drink of her coffee, letting her eyes roam amongst the various people walking around this early in the morning. Her eyes caught a police cruiser, thinking it may have been Toby, she got a little excited. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area, landing on Alison's brunette instead of Toby. Spencer stopped in her tracks, wondering what Emily was doing, so she could watch her.

She watched Emily walk towards a group of young boys who were throwing anything they could get their hands on at the cutest little boy ever. Quickly, the kids throwing rocks and sticks scrambled away, leaving just Emily and the little boy.

She could see the scowl on his face from where she stood, but Emily changed that. Probably with stupid corny jokes. Ali always told Spencer how bad her jokes were, but some of them were actually very funny. She could hear the little boy laugh, all the way across the street. Within a few minutes, Emily stood, doing a handshake with the boy before she gave him a hug.

"Ali's got a good one." Spencer smiled to herself, taking another sip of coffee before she resumed her walk down the street.

Toby. Spencer didn't even think about Toby. He was probably going to be crushed. Toby had always felt like him and Em had some sort of best friend/brother type of relationship. They were partners at work sometimes. They were partners on the football field.

Spencer dropped her off at her parent's house after they were done talking. Alison knew this was going to be so tough, because her parents love Emily. They adored her, much like Pam and Wayne did with herself.

"I'll set up an auction. All her paintings, everyone from my company, my friends, the community, I'll get the word out Ali. We'll have one big night where all the proceeds will go to her, my girl."

Her mother was just as devastated as she anticipated, and her father felt just as crushed. She saw him shed a few tears, something that didn't happen often. He cried when Alison graduated college, when Jason died, and that's the last two times she remembers him crying.

She was grateful her father was going to set up a big auction for Emily. Her mother and father promised the room would be filled to the brim with people betting on the best of the best of Emily's paintings. Her dad knew that if the audience knew what their money was going towards, and why the whole event was taking place, more community members would go and the more people would bid on each item. Really, all Kenneth and Jessica needed was as many paintings of Emily's they could get their hands on.

Her parents wanted to know every possible detail that Alison had about her girlfriend's condition. The blonde had barely registered anything herself. It was odd, but it took an event such as this to see just how much her parents loved her girlfriend. Her mother and father would never start setting up and event for anyone else she had dated.

Sure, her parents did like a few of her girlfriends, the one boy she actually dated, and the few boys she had flings with, but their connection with Emily was different. It was deeper. It was real. They truly treated her just like she had been a part of the DiLaurentis clan since birth.

They have never judged Emily. Not once. Even when she told her mom and dad that Emily could in fact get her pregnant. In fact, both of them were happy. They would have a grand baby.

Emily was exhausted from talking, from seeing people crushed, and from all the crying around her. By the time Alison got home, she had already finished an art piece that she was three quarters of the way done with. She knew she was going to need to pump out a bunch of paintings, just for a little relief for Alison and the DiLaurentis' funds.

The two sat on the couch in silent for minutes on end. Emily heard Alison sniffle, and pulled the girl in her lap so she could run her fingers through the blonde hair to soothe her girl. "Hey," her thumbs captured tears trickling down her rosy cheeks, "don't cry baby. I'm still here. I'm right here."

They talked through everything again. Emily made sure that Alison was one hundred percent sure that she wanted to help Emily out. Especially since she would be inpatient most of the time, so it would be more expensive.

"When did you know?" Alison asked, her voice breaking the silence.

"I had blood work done on Monday," Alison squeezed her eyes shut. Of course Emily would keep it from her as long as she could, she never wanted to hurt the blonde. "I just had a feeling. I thought I..." Emily paused, rubbing the palm of her hand on her thigh. "They called me Tuesday night at work."

It dawned on her: last night Emily was so emotional because she thought it was their last time. God, she needed that to be so far from the truth that it seemed crazy that anyone could possibly think that. But it wasn't crazy, because it could very well be true.

They decided she would go in next Tuesday to start her treatment. Alison wanted Emily to have a small party, filled with only a few people: Spencer, Toby, her parents, and Emily's parents. Alison decided they'd have a little barbecue and play some games on Sunday. That way, they still had a day to get things packed and spend time together before Emily made the hospital her temporary home.

"Can I tell you something?" Emily asked, breaking the silence once again. Alison shifted her head in Emily's lap, looking up at the girl that was looking right back at her.

"Anything." She replied, smiling ever so slightly.

"I updated my will." Emily shifted her gaze back to the flickering candle on the coffee table. "I-I want you to have everything I own; because you are my everything. And I would like you to be my power of attorney."

The two crawled into bed, and once again Emily fell asleep long before Alison. Her mind couldn't stop racing. She was nervous. She was scared. Her hands trembled as traced over Emily's jaw and down her neck to her collarbone. Alison swallowed the lump in her throat and rested her head on Emily's semi-bare chest. How did it come to this?

She thought back to her night with Spencer. She thought how bad Spencer felt for Emily; for Alison. Spencer had tried to give words of encouragement, but it was so hard for Spencer to do so. The only positive was that the hospital just gained a new oncology doctor. Someone who was highly regarded as one of the best.

Emily's fight hadn't even started yet, and Alison felt like Emily was already slipping through her fingertips. All she could do was pray to every higher power that Emily would make it through all of this for a second time. She needed Emily as much as she needed to breathe.

She couldn't imagine the extent of emotions Pam was feeling. What Wayne was feeling. Or even the half of what Emily was feeling. Emily was more focused on keeping herself in check; Em was being strong for her. Just like she always has, when Ali needed it the most.

'I never thought this girl would end up becoming your life.'

Spencer's words wrapped around her brain. Surgery had been her main priority in life since she was about seventeen. Alison and Spencer started taking some college credits early so they could get into the field earlier. That was all she was ever focused on. She would quit surgery, if it meant Emily could survive. Emily was now her priority, and admittedly, the gorgeous brunette had been long before she even wanted to admit it.

Emily has only been apart of Alison's life for just longer than a year. A lot can change from day to day, or minute to minute, from month to month. It's crazy, just how much things can change in a year. Your beliefs. Your habits. Your plans. Your goals. Your priorities. Your job. Your financial situation. Your family. Your life.

In one year, Emily came in like a freight train. She derailed plans, habits, and priorities. But damn, she gave Alison a beautiful life.

A year ago if you told Alison where her relationship would be in regards with Emily, she would've laughed in your face. How would someone catching her cellphone at a football game change her life so much? She would've laughed even harder if you told her she would propose marriage within a year and with no solid plan. No ring. Just completely out of the blue. And she wasn't terrified of it.

She would happily marry Emily. She'd been scared of committing in her past relationships. Mainly because she thought her leaving to a different hospital would ultimately lead to the end of the relationship. But Emily proved, pretty much from day one, she was in it. One thousand percent. She would've traveled with Alison, to any place she went. Although, Ali was delighted that she chose to stay in Rosewood.

Alison carefully pushed off of Emily, resting on her side just inches away from the brunette. "One day I will marry you." She whispered to the sleeping beauty. She rubbed her thumb across Emily's knuckles, imagining their big day together. "We're gonna have the best wedding ever. Spencer will be my maid of honor. She'll probably embarrass the hell out of me. She'll tell embarrassing stories I haven't even told you yet. Our parents will get all of our guests to get on the dance floor. My parents dance moves will embarrass me more than Spencer's speech." She could envision all their guests laughing at her parents. They were two of the worst dancers she's ever seen.

"I trust you with picking out our color theme. But I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being grey. I swear that like the only color you wear." Alison chuckled. Emily's always worn black, white, or grey. The only color she basically ever wore was flannels.

"It'll be a fall wedding. We'll be outside. The sun will be out, but it won't be too hot. Our parents will bawl, I think you're mom will the most. Actually, the entire crowd will. Because I know damn well how you are. Your romantic ass is gonna make everyone cry. And be jealous of me." Alison smiled, joking with her girl even though she wasn't hearing a single word she was saying.

"We'll hire the best photographer around. We'll have it videoed, so we can show the kids someday. Our first dance will be to To Build a Home. I'm gonna cry, and you'll make some joke while we're dancing that'll make me laugh so hard. You'll probably get tired of dancing, but you'll dance the night away just to make me happy. We'll have a gigantic firework show to end the night."

She's had day dreamed her wedding and begun planning it with Spencer since she were thirteen. She knew the flowers she wanted. She knew the center pieces she wanted, the lights, the DJ, the chairs for the ceremony, the table cloths, she knew what her big dream wedding was going to look like.

"I don't care if that's even what it looks like. As long as you're by my side, it'll be perfect."

As if Emily could hear her, she rolled on her side. Her arm reached out for Ali, she felt the weight of Emily's arm slink over her torso. Emily's lips were parted, the softest snore filling the room.

"One day Em. One day." She whispered and kissed her tan cheek before she turned her back towards Emily and scooted in close so Emily could spoon her. Alison grabbed Emily's hand that that was thrown over her. She slipped her fingers to fit perfectly inside Emily's. She brought the hand up to her mouth, kissing it, before trying to scoot closer into Emily, before she shut her eyes and fell asleep to her girl's breathing.


	20. Chapter 20

The small party seemed to be going over pretty well. Alison was relieved of the cooking duties. Her mom, along with Pam and Zoe, who was just begging for some scraps, took over the kitchen so she herself could spend time with the people who came. Alison sat on the couch and started people watching. Although there weren't very many people here, actually there was only both Emily and Alison's immediate family plus Spencer and Toby, Alison always enjoyed it. 

Pam and her own mother were laughing and talking about recipes in the kitchen. Wayne and her father were talking about god knows what since everyone arrived. And Spencer, Toby, and Emily stood by the fire place, making small talk. Well, a lot of Emily just nodding her head and the couple standing in front of her doing the majority of the talking. 

Alison's eyes fixated on Emily. She watched the brunette's each and every move. She could picture it, just a year or two, maybe even three years from now they would be in the same situation again. But this time with much more people, and for a much happier reason. Emily would be so apprehensive, and probably be sticking to Alison's side like Velcro. 

"You ever stop staring at her like that?" Spencer's voice ripped her out of her quick day dream. 

"You know, we could've been engaged on the same day?" She still stared at Emily, her eyes unmoving, and a somberness to her voice. 

"What? That-"

Quickly, she interrupted Spencer. "I proposed to her." Spencer's jaw dropped, watching Alison as she looked so emotional, and unemotional at the same time. "The night she told me she was sick." 

"Wow." Spencer blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the shock. "That's huge for you Ali. That means-"

"I'm in love with her." Ali breathed out, finishing Spencer's sentence for her. 

"Well yeah, I know you're in love with her. That's pretty obvious." Spencer smiled, and nudged her shoulder into Ali's a little bit. 

"No, Spence. You don't get it. I'm in love with her." Alison tapped the rim of her glass with her finger. Emily turned to meet Alison's eye, sending a cheesy grin her way before she disappeared into the kitchen. Finally she turned to Spencer, her crystal blue eyes holding every ounce of pain, and emotion the blonde was feeling. 

"Like before, I don't know. I don't really know how to explain it. I feel like when we're apart for five minutes that it's actually been ten days. I feel lighter, happier, when I hear her voice. I can't breathe without her Spence." Alison cleared a tear drop as quickly as it started cascading down her cheek. "What if I was too late? I should've gone to a game with you like three years ago. I would've caught it by then. I would've had three years with her already, not only one."

"Hey, don't think like that." Spencer put her hand on Alison's arm. "You were meant to happen now, a year ago. Not three." 

Alison sighed rubbing at her forehead. The past three days she had so much stuff running through her head, it was damn near impossible to get anything straight; especially after she was done working each day. "I feel so damn guilty for every time I was mad at her." 

Spencer went to answer her, but a couple loud crashes coming from the kitchen made Spencer stop and turn her attention to the kitchen. "You don't need to worry, because yours and Emily's story is just beginning." Spencer turned back to Alison, wrapping her arm around the blonde once she heard laughter in the kitchen. 

The two best friends stayed like that for what felt like forever. They didn't speak, but after so long of being best friends, they knew how to comfort one another. And this was it. Their silent moment was interrupted by Emily. 

"Als, we gotta go for a ride to the store." Emily smiled and held out her hand for Alison to take. "My mom spilled her wine all over the hamburger buns, and then I may have knocked three bottles of wine on the floor." Emily laughed. Alison didn't miss Emily's attempt at hiding her nervousness. The tall girl thought her girlfriend would be mad that she spilt three bottles of wine on her kitchen floor. 

"I think Zoe wants to go for a ride too. Is she allowed in your car?" Emily asked, seeing Zoe sitting right next to the door as the pair put their shoes and jackets on. 

Alison picked up her parents' dog and put her in the back seat before she got in the driver's seat herself. She sighed, and go in, turning the ignition over and looking at Emily. She was surprised to see that Zoe had jumped into Emily's lap, and curled up in the brunette's arms. 

"Did she do that?" Emily looked baffled, but nodded in an answer. "That's weird. She hates being...cuddled." 

"You're just salty she loves me the most, aren't you?" Emily joked, laughing at herself as she ruffled Zoe's fur. Just the sound of Emily's laugh could brighten Alison's mood. 

So far, every night and every morning, Alison cried. She couldn't help it, she begged herself and told herself she wasn't going to cry, but she did. She couldn't help but feel like the sky was falling. Or that this entire year of her life was some sick joke being played on her. How fucking fair was this world?

Right now, Emily was the strong one. She was keeping Alison grounded. But just early next week, the roles would have to be reversed. Alison would have to be strong for Emily. She would have to keep Emily grounded when she felt like crumbling. Alison didn't know if she could do it. She didn't know if she could be strong enough for Emily, but she didn't have a choice. She just had to be. 

Emily made sure that she wrapped Zoe up in her jacket before the pair headed into the store. Alison smiled at the gesture, it being completely something that Emily would do. They would only be in the store for a maximum of five minutes. The car would definitely still be warm by the time they got back, but Emily took care of Zoe just like she was a human. Which if you asked any of Alison's immediate family members, that's why Zoe loved the tanned brunette so much. 

Emily held three new bottles of wine in her left hand while her right hand loosely held onto Alison's hand. Had Alison not been in her own little world, she would've been impressed at the fact that Emily was holding three bottles in one hand. Alison took a glance up at Emily, seeing the brunette walk around the store with a smile on her face hurt her in ways she couldn't even imagine. 

"Ali?" Emily voiced, her innocence shining through like she was just a frightened child. "Are you mad at me?" She let go of Alison's hand, feeling a coolness replace the warmth that was just there, as she reached for a package of hamburger buns. "If you're second guessing, I won't be mad. You haven't really said anything all day, and-"

Alison stopped and felt herself start to panic. Emily read her so well. She should be able to tell her girlfriend, whom she loves very much, that she's terrified. For some reason, she couldn't. She stood on her tip toes and leaned into Emily's soft lips. "No, I was just thinking about what we could do tomorrow." Alison smoothly lied.

Alison watched as Emily's eyebrows returned back to normal, and a smile made its way onto her face. "Oh, tomorrow I have everything planned out." Emily beamed, she halted their conversation as she checked out her four items. Emily gripped onto her hand once they were outside and on their way back to Alison's vehicle. "We are going to have so much fun tomorrow."

Alison believed her. She really did. When Em really tried, or maybe she wasn't even trying, she somehow managed to get Alison's mind off of reality. The hardest part was their downtime together. Something that Alison loved the most, had turned into something she despised. She feared it even; because all she wanted to do was melt into a puddle of tears. 

Back at the party Emily, Toby, Ken, and Wayne started to set up some games while the remaining ladies were in the kitchen, plating the food. They were called into the kitchen, so the night could get a move on. They made small talk at the table mostly about the food, Alison's decor in her house, and football. Toby and Emily were supposed to have a game tonight. Alison fought with Emily, telling her that she really shouldn't play. Toby was going to skip tonight because, "being here is more important."

Earlier, when Emily and Toby had a chance to talk alone, they ended up having a really nice conversation.

"Toby, you should go to the game. I would if I could." Emily half whispered, her eyes not meeting Toby's. Instead, they focused on the mailbox across the street.

"Are you serious?" Toby looked at her incredulously. "My best friend is more important than a football game will ever be."

Emily sat for a second, her brain processing what Toby had just said to her. "Best friend? You think we're best friends?"

"Well of course." He laughed, bumping his shoulder into hers. "We were friends since I started working there. You've become my best friend, not only because of our lovely ladies, but because you really are a great friend. It helps that I do actually like you, and that you are so nice." He picked his beer bottle up from the step beside him and brought it to his lips, taking a sip of it before he set it down again.

"Oh, I just-" Emily started to trail off, but she swallowed the bit of fear she had and started back up, "anytime anyone has talked to me, I've always thought we were friends." Emily glanced at him to see his blue eyes staring back at her, intently listening. She turned her head back, focusing on the mailbox again. "I was like that one kid everyone had in school, that people were only nice too because they felt bad for them; but really everyone just laughed behind my back."

She sighed, not daring to look at Toby because she knew he would give her sympathy. It felt really good to talk about, for Emily. She hadn't really talked to anyone about her childhood and her lone high school year in detail to anyone. Sure, her mom and dad knew everything that happened and what went on in Emily's life then, but they didn't exactly know how she felt. Or how much she still had left to get off of her chest. 

"I always thought we were friends, but I didn't know if that's how you felt too." She finally looked at Toby, who mimicked the goofy smile that was on her own face.

"Well, I don't let just anyone use my garage to fix their vehicle." Toby smirked, knocking into her shoulder once again. 

"That's why I was-am still sometimes-so nervous with Alison." Her head dropped to her hands, watching her own fingers tangle with one another. "At first, I like..I don't know. It's weird. I saw her as a friend, and I was nervous that she didn't think of me the same, and I still stress out whether she's going to feel the same way about things as I do. When she accepted to hang out with me again, I for sure thought we were friends. Then that night we hung out at her house, I just felt comfortable when we were talking, and I wanted to kiss her. So I did." Emily smiled at the memory. 

"Sorry, for seeming like super girly or whatever, but I don't really have anyone to talk too." Emily apologized, feeling a slight tint of pink to rush towards her cheeks.

"I'll tell you a secret; Alison liked you from the moment she met you. And just for the record, you can talk to me about anything." Toby smiled and comfortingly patted the brunette's back. "I had to chase Spencer." He shared, taking another drink of his beer. "Worth every agonizing moment. Next year, we'll be married."

Emily hummed, she felt a new airiness take over her. She got a small load of information off of her chest, but she also gained a best friend. Her first real best friend, besides Alison. There was a giant difference between someone you're best friends with and someone you go to bed with every night. The sun peeked from behind the clouds and added to her mood; giving her body a little heat. The day was chilly though. The air was crisp, and the warmth of the sun could only be felt when the wind finally died down. 

"Be my best friend." Toby stated, setting his beer down fairly roughly. He looked at Emily if he had just come to a realization. 

"I thought we were?" Emily asked, feeling confused. The had just gone over their friendship just moments ago.

"No. I mean yes we are, but for my wedding." Emily's eyebrows raised, in complete shock. She was sure there were many, many people Toby could ask to do that honor for him on the biggest day of his life, not her. "I don't want a best man, I want my best friend. You won't have to stand with me at the alter. You won't even have to give a speech if you don't want too, but I would like you to."

"I-I don't know what to say. Don't you have other people that should fill that role?"

"No." Toby smiled, picking at the label of the beer bottle. He knew his co-worker would be extremely nice and caring, just to make sure Toby knew he was a thousand percent sure. "So what do you say?" 

"If I'm still around by then, then I guess I'm your best friend." She smiled back at Toby. She watched as Toby pushed himself off of the front porch steps and extend his hand out to her. 

"You will, because you're the toughest person I've ever met. Come on, best friend," he emphasized "Ali will kill me for having you out in the cold for so long. Let's get you back inside."

"Hey Toby," Emily stopped him from opening the front door. "I appreciate that more than you'll ever know. And I just want you to know that if you ever need any help with a case, you can bring it to me anytime at the hospital."

"Alright, what game are we playing first?" Jessica quickly turned to the living room once the dishes were cleaned up. 

"Anything but poker. Emily will clean everyone's damn pocket." Toby joked, the whole room settling into a laughter. 

"That's my girl." Wayne proudly boasted. He smiled at Emily, knowing how good she was at the game actually. He taught her the ropes of the game, but he didn't think she'd ever be able to beat him. 

Alison and Spencer sifted through some of the games they had set out, basically listing the pros and cons of each game. "Actually," Emily interrupted, her hands trembling with her immense nerves, "I um. Uh-um." Alison set down the game she had in her hand, Clue, and quickly shuffled to kneel in front of the shaking brunette.

"Hey," her hands resting on the top of Emily's knees and giving them the lightest squeeze, "it's okay, babe." Ali whispered, she so desperately wanted to look over at Pam and Wayne. Maybe they could give her some help, or handle the situation. Was it her perfectionism getting the best of her again?

"I um, I want to shave my head." It was like everyone in the entire room froze. "Right now." It was like no one batted an eyelash. They stared at Emily, very uncertain what to say. Or if they should even say anything.

"Are-are you sure honey?" It was Pam who was able to find her voice first. 

"When my hair started falling out last time, you guys were distraught. I don't want you guys to go through that again. It makes it more real when my hair starts falling out. It'll seem a little more normal for me to be bald."

"You don't have to do that for us Em."

"It's not just for all you guys. It's for me too. It hurt so bad. It hurt so bad to see you like that. I would just run a hand through my hair and chunks would fall out. I-it was," she let out frustrated sighed, her hands balling into tight fists, not exactly sure how she could explain how she felt to everyone. 

"Don't get mad Em. That's fine." Alison gently pried her hands in between Emily's fists. "It's okay. We can do it now. We can do it right now." 

While Toby ran home to grab his buzzer kit, Alison sat on Emily's lap. She kept her head turned towards her, while her hands ran through the locks for a final time. Alison turned forward, no longer being able to repress tears any longer if she stared at her girl any more, and leaned back into Emily. The brunette's chin came to a rest on Alison's shoulder. Emily whispered something, causing both girls to laugh. Emily perfectly caught the moment, without Alison being able to tell. Emily just got herself a new background picture for her cell phone. 

Everyone took turns taking a pass through Emily's hair. It was a sad moment, that only lasted for about twenty minutes. 

"What?" Emily said she stood, all eyes were on her. She rubbed the back of her head, not entirely used to it being bald, but she remembered that she would get used to it too. Just like last time. "Does it make me look uglier?" 

"Sweetheart," Jessica stood and placed her hands on Emily's cheeks. She was the closest to Emily, so it wasn't really a surprise that she had shot up first. "you are beautiful. Beauty comes from within, and you have the beautifulest soul I've ever know." She wrapped Emily into a hug. Jessica pulled away, her hands resting on Emily's biceps. She squeezed them the slightest bit as she teased, "it helps that you have the looks too." She kissed Emily's forehead, which she had to force down in order to even reach. 

Afterwords, everyone's mood went back to being cheery. Emily couldn't keep the smile off of her face, and no one could stop laughing. They all had a great time. Somehow they even managed to play monopoly without stabbing one another. Emily edged out Spencer in the end, which was very surprising to everyone. 

"Hey," Spencer plopped onto the couch next to Toby, relaxing into the warm body next to her, "you okay?" Ever since they got back from Ali's house, Toby had been staring at the black television. Spencer tidied up the house and took a shower, only to come down stairs at least twenty five minutes later to see Toby hadn't moved a centimeter since she went upstairs. 

"Yeah." His voice croaked out, he hadn't spoken for nearly an hour. "I'm just thinking of ways I can help Emily." Spencer pushed off of Toby's chest, and looked at him. She swore she could see the smallest little tear cascade down his cheek. "I asked her to be my best friend, in our wedding. I don't want a best man, I want my best friend. We had the nicest, little conversation today."

Spencer put her palm to his warm, rosy, cheeks. His eyes closed, his head fell back, and surely this time a single tear fell down his cheek. "Just be there for her. Visit. I don't care if you go every day, but just be there to support her." Spencer gently placed her lips on his. 

"We'll go to the fundraising event, right?" 

Since Spencer had known that Emily painted her favorite painting in the hospital, the one with the trees and the little pond, she's always wanted a piece of Emily's work. Now, she didn't have to ask Emily to paint something for them. This was a win-win. She was able to get a piece of work, and help out Emily financially at the same time. "Of course, and we will at least be coming home with one piece of hers."

Emily woke up to an empty bed, and sniffling coming from the master bathroom. She opened the door to see Ali sitting on the toilet, crying. "Als, what's wrong?"

Alison looked over to the concerned brunette standing in the doorway with blurry vision. "I started my period today." 

"Oh, um, do you..um need anything?" Emily couldn't understand why Ali was so upset. She had never made this big of a commotion about it before. Alison shook her head, declining the need for anything. Emily shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back and forth on her feet. "So, are you still up for some fun today then..or?" 

Alison wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks and turned to Emily with a smile, "of course."

Emily desperately wanted to go do laser tag, got to an arcade, and do paintball. Of course, Alison didn't have to backbone to say no to her; not that she ever would in her lifetime. It was something she found so common within herself. She could not say no to Emily Fields. Not that she wanted too, today anyway. She had an interest and figured it would be a good time shooting little balls of paint at one another. 

And it was good fun. Although Alison got demolished at the shooting background games, she did have a fun time at the arcade located in the mall. All the kids in the arcade stared at the two. It didn't really help that Alison screamed in joy like a little four year old every time she won. 

Emily herself had never had much luck with these type of games. Games that were all up to chance. She had gotten a decent amount of tickets, but Alison definitely accumulated more than she had. At the end of the day, Emily proposed that they buy a bunch of little toys, and give them to the kids still in the arcade with the tickets they had won. 

After a short brisk walk in the park, they went home to make something to eat and settle in to watch some movies. Almost as soon as they walked in the door, Emily's phone rang. She knew her parents as well as Ali's were going to let them be today, so she was a little surprised to hear her phone go off. 

"That was my boss." Emily came back into the kitchen to find Ali sitting at the counter, nursing a glass of wine. "He needs to talk to me, I guess. How about you pick out a movie, and think where you want to order out from. When I get back I'll order the food, okay?" She walked towards Alison and placed her hand on the small of her back. She slowly leaned in to give Alison a soft kiss.

Alison watched as Emily put on the shoes and jacket she just shed. She watched her put on her Nike beanie to cover her now bald head, and turned back to her wine glass when the door clicked closed. It was a little hard for her to get over Emily without hair. She had such beautifully long hair, but she knew that Emily was right. If it was this hard to see her lose it all at once, how would she be able to handle seeing it fall out, strand by strand. 

Instead of doing what Emily had said, she hopped on the computer to order Emily a couple new beanies for her to wear. She's worn the same one since the two met, and even then it looked like it had some wear and tear to it. She figured they could just watch one of Emily's favorite movies, like something from the Harry Potter series, and they could order a couple burgers from Toni's. 

She felt a pang in her chest, realizing that she still never came up with anything good from Emily's birthday, that was at the end of next week. She sort of forgot about it with all the recent commotion. It didn't really matter anyway, in Alison's mind. Emily would be in a hospital bed, being pumped with drugs. That's got to be the shittiest way to spend a birthday. Other than being dead. Alison laughed at her own joke, it was the only way, besides crying, that she was able to cope with the current situation. 

She sat mindlessly drinking her wine on the couch as she waited for Emily to come back home. Twenty-five minutes later the door closed and she heard Emily shedding herself of her shoes. "Hey babe." she yelled so Emily would know that she was in the living room. "What did your boss want?"

"Oh, he just wanted to let me know that I'll have a job waiting when I get back." Emily yelled from the kitchen and Alison could hear Emily set some plastic bags on the counter. She turned on the couch to face the kitchen, "He said he wants to retire, and he'd like me to take his position." Alison beamed, knowing that Emily worked so hard. And now it was so nice to know that she was really good at her job. She turned back around to set her glass of wine on the coffee table so she could go meet Em in the kitchen, but Emily came to her. 

She jumped when she turned around and Emily was right next to her. "I know how you get-"

Immediately Alison started to protest. "How I get?" She bit back and arched her eyebrow at Emily questionably. 

"I-I know how you like to watch that Kardashian show and eat ice cream with french fries when.." Emily stuttered and coughed before finishing, "when it's that time." She pulled two bags off of the floor and slid them over towards Alison on the coffee table. "I thought we could get comfortable and, and do that." Emily rubbed the back of her neck and tore her eyes away from the fiery eyes before her. "But if you don't want to, we don't have too. Um, I-we can-"

Alison felt herself melt into a damn puddle. Only twice has Emily been home to notice that her favorite time of the month activity was to binge watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "That sounds perfect." She reached out for Emily's arm and stopped her rambling. She leaned in to kiss Emily for about the fortieth time today. But it was the best day she's had in a long time. They had fun. Even though it was basically their last hurrah, it didn't feel that way. 

Alison laid between Emily's legs, and laid flat on her chest. The warm hands belonging to the beautiful human underneath her laid on her stomach. They played with the hem of her shirt, brushing along Alison's skin every now and then. Alison watched happily, finishing off the remnants of her vanilla ice cream. She whined the slightest bit when she finished off her ice cream, because she wanted more. Emily had gotten the smallest little vanilla ice cream Alison had ever seen, yet her fries were still gone first, but she would never complain. 

"There's some cookie dough in the freezer too." Emily whispered in her ear. Of course Emily heard her complain, she never missed a damn thing. 

Alison started crying, her emotions being heightened today, of all days, did not help. It was the sixth time she started crying. Not to mention she snapped at Emily three times today too. Emily quickly, yet cautiously slipped out from underneath her. Alison got up to get herself a bowl in the kitchen, except Emily wasn't in the kitchen. She was putting her jacket and shoes on again. 

"Where are you going?" Alison asked, her voice still so soft from crying, and she really didn't want Emily to leave. 

"I'm going to get you a different flavor of ice cream. I thought cookie dough was your favorite. What kinds do you like the best? Chocolate? Moose Tracks?" Emily started rambling off all the flavors she could think of off the top of her head. Alison's emotions hit her harder, her cries now turning into full blown sobs. God, Emily was way too good for the world. "Okay, okay. I'll get one of each."

"Get back here and eat ice cream with me." Alison wrapped Emily in the tightest hug she's ever given anyone on the planet.

"You're not mad?" She was curious why Alison was even crying if she wasn't mad. "I got the wrong kind of ice cream." Emily was a little disappointed in herself. She'd seen Alison have ice cream so many times, yet she had failed to remember her favorite flavor. She swore it was cookie dough, but she wasn't one hundred percent certain. 

"No you didn't, it's my favorite." Ali smiled and hooked her hands around Emily's neck. She gently pulled the taller girl's neck down so she could kiss her, yet again. Their lips moved in perfect synchronization. Emily's hands gripped onto her waist as her tongue entered into Alison's. Emily pulled pack, releasing Alison's lips with the faintest pop.

Their foreheads rested against one another's and Alison broke their little silent bubble. "Come on, lets go get some ice cream." She pecked Emily's lips one final time before she grabbed onto the large hand belonging to Emily and dragging her into the kitchen to scoop some ice cream for the both of them. "We're sharing, and you're not saying no. You barely ate anything today." Alison softly scolded and half instructed. It made her extremely nervous to see how little Emily ate. 

Alison effectively got Emily to eat the majority of the gigantic bowl of ice cream she had dished for them. After a couple episodes of the Kardashians, Alison wanted to play a Harry Potter movie for Emily. She knew after the movie, Emily would pass out within ten seconds, so she wanted to end their night off right. Alison put The Half Blood Prince in the Blu-ray player, grabbed a blanket, and laid back down between Emily's legs. She felt Emily's arms wrap around her waist and squeezed her tight. 

"I love you." Emily whispered and kissed Alison's cheek. She herself, felt high-spirited. She got to spend an entire year with the angel that was Alison DiLaurentis. She wouldn't be too pissed off if she didn't make it out of this. She wanted too, there was no questioning that. But her ghost-spirit, or whatever the fuck you would like to call it, would be at peace. She was blessed with the presence of Alison. She had the best past year in her entire lifetime. Their was no questioning how good Alison has been for her: how good she has been to her. She opened her up to a couple really amazing friends. 

"I love you too, Em." Alison held back the tears she wanted to shed. Emily was her weakness. She always has been since the moment she met the girl. She wished she could take all the bad things that happened away from Emily, but they also made them into the great person she was. Somehow, she saw how Emily took her pains and shoved them deep down. She saw how motivated she was to help others. 

Her neighbors fell in love with Emily too. She would help Mrs. Jenkins across the street by mowing her lawn. She helped Mr. Stanton fix his broken fence. She helped Mrs. Daniels build her garden. And yet, she still found time to paint, and do all the kind things she did for Alison. 

Tomorrow was going to be a struggle, which was probably the understatement of the year. How was Alison going to leave Emily at the hospital, and come home to an empty house? She knows that Emily will push her home, to sleep in a comfortable bed, to eat a real meal, and to get some rest. But is that what she should do? Because she would rather be uncomfortable and be with Emily. Because home wasn't home without her. 

And that terrified her. 

She knew that tomorrow was going to be so damn hard. Which is why she wanted today to be perfect. They would have Emily's perfect day, and Alison would treat her to a perfect night. Which was half the reason she was so upset all day; because Mother Nature couldn't cooperate with her. The had mind blowing sex all week, but tonight was supposed to be the real romantic type. With the flowers, and candles. The whole nine yards. Everything Emily secretly loved, but she only showed Alison a handful of times. Tonight, pleasing Emily would just have to be suffice. 

At the end of the night with Emily laying completely naked, while Alison was naked from the waist up, they both were entangled with one another on the bed. Emily's hand scribbled out small notes on Alison's stomach, going completely undetected by the other woman. Emily's breath tickled Alison's neck every time she breathed. 

Alison pushed her slightly, so Emily would get the hint she wanted to switch positions. She copied Emily's position and snuggled her noise into the warm neck of the brunette. Neither girl could fall asleep even though they were both exhausted. Both Emily and Alison wanted to stay in this moment, and never let it go. Because tomorrow would be a reality that didn't excited them. 

To start the day, they both had different emotions. But at the end, they both felt the exact same; they were hopeful. Both Emily and Alison were praying to every higher power, that this would not be their last time. That this would not be their end. Because they had so much farther to go.


	21. Chapter 21

Emily forced Alison to work during the day, after Emily got settled into her room, a room she absolutely admired. Well, admired as much as you can admire for a hospital room, that is. Her room was at the far end of the tenth floor. It was secluded, being the only room at the end of the hallway, and it was far away from most of the noises that could hinder Emily from getting a decent night's sleep. 

It was actually a room that was normally reserved for celebrities, or those who were able to pay the high price tag that the prestigious room came with. Emily tried to get Alison to have her transferred to a different room, seeing that her current living situation would cost her family, and later on herself, a big damage to the pocket book. Emily intended on paying Alison's parents back every penny they had lent her, along with Alison. Her conscious would not be clear if she didn't, but with Alison and her parents being the way that they were, she probably wouldn't be able to relieve her conscious. 

Alison worked mindlessly through the day. Emily was right though, it wouldn't entirely be wise to take a lot of vacation days this early on. A number of things could pop up, not even pertaining to her girlfriend being in the hospital, and then she wouldn't have any days to take off if those kind of situations did arise.

She wondered what was going on with Emily. Pam and Wayne had met Emily and herself in main lobby this morning. She wondered what the oncologist came up with for an exact treatment plan. One thing she did figure though, was that Emily was probably painting away. Emily was not leaving the house this morning if she wasn't allowed to bring her painting supplies. It's not like she had the heart to tell her no, even though she thought it was a good idea to keep her mind off things, especially with the mini breakdown Emily endured last night. 

"Em, are you okay?" Alison was carrying half of a turkey sandwich down to the basement for Emily to eat while she painted, but she walked in to the talented brunette sitting against the wall, rocking herself as she cried. 

Alison set down the plate on the little table before she slid down the wall to sit next to her upset girlfriend. She forced her arm around the back of the quivering woman so she could hold her tight, and pull her into her own chest. "What's the matter babe?" She tried again. 

"I-I'm b-behind. And your parents are going to be mad because I will owe them so much. And you'll be mad because I owe you so much." She sucked in a breath and wiped the top of her nose. "I didn't get enough done. Your-your parents need a ton of paintings to auction off, and none of these are good enough." At this point Emily was close to hyperventilating, so Ali knew she had to snap Emily out of it. 

"It's not too late to get married." She tried joking to shift the mood. 

"No-no. No, I can't. It'll screw everything up." She scratched at her forehead before she spoke again. "You probably have everything planned out anyway." 

"I do." Alison smiled and looked down at the top of Emily's head. Even though the brunette couldn't see her, since she was curled into Alison's chest, she still had that same freaky ability to read Alison. "I told you all about it while you were sleeping one night. Don't you have yours all planned out in that gigantic, genius head of yours?" 

"What?" Emily asked, turning her body so she could face Alison. 

"Your dream wedding. Do you have it planned out?" She asked again, letting her hand rest down on Emily's collarbone. 

"No." Emily shrugged, the tears well gone now. "I never thought I'd get married. Well, not until we started dating anyways. I don't know what I'd want even." 

"What? Every kid dreams about their wedding! Spencer and I have had ours planned out since we were eleven. Of course there's been some modifications along the way, but our plans are pretty much set in stone." 

Emily faintly smiled, brushing her fingers against the hand the laid against her collarbone; Alison's hand. "I never had a long enough relationship to think about marriage." 

Alison hummed, mentally scolding herself for sidetracking off into a conversation that was not helpful to Emily at all. "You could paint the outside of an old burned down house that's partially caved in, and it would be insanely beautiful." 

"Just like you." Emily whispered, her eyes closing as she shifted further into Alison again. 

"I'm serious Em, your work is unbelievable. Plus, it looks like you have enough paintings for my dad to auction off." Ali said, taking a slow once over of the room. Her eyes caught multiple paintings along the way, wondering herself how Emily could ever be so hard on herself. She knew that there was no way to fix it, and that it was something that Emily dealt with all the time. But literally everything Emily did, that Alison has seen anyway, has been simply amazing. And that includes things outside of work, football, and painting. "It'll all be okay." 

Alison was extremely busy throughout the day though. Since she took the day off yesterday, she had a plethora of patients to patch up in the operating room. She had all of five minutes to eat lunch today, otherwise she would've spent her allotted lunch time in Emily's room. But by the time she would've made it to her girlfriend's room, she would've had to run back to the elevator so she wouldn't be late for her next surgery. Instead, she ate her small ham sandwich, carrot sticks, and a juice box in the waiting area just outside the operating rooms. She had to settle for a couple text messages to Emily that read:

'I have another surgery in like, literally four minutes. Otherwise I would've came to spend my lunch with you. I'll be by when I get off work'

She expected Emily to be asleep, but as soon as her message read, "delivered" the three little dots popped up, indicating that Emily was already writing back. 

'Lots of stories to tell you when you get here. My second dose doesn't start until seven, so sorry it won't be all that much fun every night.' 

She saw the three dots appear right underneath Emily's recent message. 

'You're a rockstar, baby. Love you'

Alison smiled, she stood and threw her empty plastic baggies in the garbage and headed back to the operating rooms. 

'I love you too Em' 

She gave her phone to her intern to put away at the closest nurses station to the OR. She walked into the scrub station, put her new mask on, and started scrubbing the dirt and grime on her hands. Even though her mask was on, the smile Emily had managed to put on her face never disappeared.

She was surprised how quickly she was able to run to Emily's room after she was officially clocked out. Bowel resections, splenectomy's, some hernia repairs, and a couple consults took up the entirety of her day. She was exhausted. But now, heading up to Emily's room, she felt like she had all the energy in the world. 

She walked into the secluded room to find her girlfriend curled up near the railing of the bed. Emily was laying there, her eyes fixated on the television that was softly playing. Alison was a little shocked not to see Pam and Wayne still there, but she figured that Emily had probably kicked them out to go eat, or rest a long time ago. She noticed Emily's fresh painting resting on the small easel on the portable bedside table. It was a beautiful painting, a farm house resided in the background with a wheat field in the foreground. The sun was still peeking through the clouds, and just over the top of a hill, only a quarter of it still visible as it was clearly setting for the day. The clouds were a mixture of pink, orange, red, and purple. 

"I think that one's got to be hung up in our house." Ali broke her silence, still standing at the doorway. Alison instantly fell in love with this piece of Emily's, it quickly became her favorite, or close to favorite anyway. Just the small details in the wheat field with a tractor in the middle of it, the patch of crows sitting on the fence posts near the house, the yard toys being driven by the family, it was all so incredibly beautiful to Alison. The only painting of Emily's that was in their house was the one Emily gave her for Christmas, and that was in their bedroom.

Alison argued that it was where she spent over half of her time when she was home and she wanted to see it as often as possible. She could picture this piece being the main feature in the living room, or in the bathroom downstairs, or even on the wall that led to upstairs. Emily smiled when her eyes laid on Alison for the first time since early this morning. "Hey baby." Her voice was thick, raspy. "Our house, hey?" She lazily smiled and held out her hand, wanting Ali to come sit next to her, and manage to hold her girl for just a little while as best as she could right now.

"Yes, our house." Ali recognized the gesture, and happily sat down in the little metal chair set up next to her bedside. 

"No," Em tugged on her hand, forcing her to stand "pull my chair over here." Emily rolled over and pointed to the much comfier looking chair by the windows of her room. Alison didn't think of arguing, and it wasn't like she didn't want to sit in a comfier chair. She rolled the chair in place of the little fold-able chair and was about to sit down, before her hand was tugged again. 

"What now?" Alison quipped, biting at Emily. "Sorry." She apologized quickly, realizing that she definitely shouldn't have snapped at Emily. She just wanted to get a little bit of rest, since she hadn't had any this far today. 

Emily puckered her lips, she wanted to greet Alison the way she always did at home. Alison would walk in the door, and she would be greeted with a kiss before they sat down for dinner. Ali smiled, and leaned over the guard railing to meet Emily's lips. Emily let out a contented sigh and felt Alison pull away from her. 

"How was everything this morning? Where are your parents? I thought you said your next dose starts at seven?" Ali asked, still not letting go of Emily's hand that was extended out to her. She had noticed the missing bag that should've been hanging from the infusion stand. Emily's hold did wonders for Alison, and they were only holding hands.

"The nurse hasn't been in yet. I sent my parents home a couple hours ago. I-I didn't like this morning at all. There was a student nurse assisting with the nurse and I was just uncomfortable." Emily reached for the television remote, that also happened to be connected to the call button, and turned the sound of the television off. She could feel the sweat starting to coat on her hands as she thought back to how stupid she made her self seem this morning. She stuttered whenever she had to answer both of the women trying to help her, otherwise if it wasn't necessary to talk, she didn't. The student nurse had even called Emily out on her stuttering, asking her if it was some sort of complication, and that only made Emily feel even worse about herself.

"There will probably be a student nurse with you everyday. It'll be okay, you'll get to know everyone here." Ali said with a smile, trying to get the brunette's hopes up.

"I don't know." Emily answered, shrugging. She didn't really like the concept of having a bunch of different student nurse taking care of her, looking at her funny, and making a fool out of herself everyday. "But this morning I got this thing put in." Emily pulled down the top of her baggy hospital gown to reveal to Alison a little device placed on the right side of her chest. It had some minor bruising around it, but Alison couldn't believe that Emily didn't let her know that she was having a minor procedure done.

"The doctor said I did really good." Emily beamed and although Alison wanted to be mad at her, how could she? "It worked good this afternoon though." 

"So you're scheduled for an afternoon and a nighttime dose?" 

"Yup." Emily sighed, her smile falling before it returned quickly again. "Oh! Guess what Ali?"

"What, babe?" Ali chuckled, needing Emily's quirkiness today.

The two walked laps around the tenth floor, since she wasn't able to venture off anywhere else. They talked mostly about the station being a hot mess this morning, almost entirely because she wasn't there. But, it also attributed to the fact that there were an abundance of cases this morning. 

"So, I have some fantastic news." Toby smiled at Emily, knowing that this would make her happy. Hell, it made him happy. Emily just looked at him, her eyebrows raised in anticipation, waiting for him to spill the beans. "Since we are so swamped and so unorganized, I had a talk with Chief this morning before I got off."

"Okay..." Emily just wanted Toby to get to the point now. She was starting to feel pretty tired and all she wanted to do was lay down in her bed and take a nice, long nap. Toby told her to shoo him away when she wasn't feeling up to anything, but she needed to hear what he had to say before she could dismiss him.

"Since you're so valuable to our department, and we didn't really notice it until the past week, I got Chief to maintain your job." Emily smiled wide, and came to a stop. She didn't know for sure if this was actually happening, or if it was the chemo playing with her mind. "Now, you won't make nearly as much as you did before, but we're giving you your belt back. Everything will be on it, you'll have your badge, it'll all be here. And I'll be dropping by a lot to bring you cases and what not. So, we will be working with each other until you can return, then you can go to your new adventure; being the Chief."

"Wow, that's great Em." Alison smiled and ran her thumb along Emily's knuckles. "Do you think it might all be too much though?"

"What? Baby, no." Emily responded immediately with a whine, and starting to get a little defensive. She knew how tuckered put she was before, but it may have helped her to have something to do everyday. "I-I'll be f-fine. It's-I won't be having a full work load Als. It'll keep me busy during the day and Toby will be working with me; I won't be doing it all alone." 

"Hey, I'm okay with it." Alison started to panic when she felt Emily's hands start to shake. She hadn't noticed it before, but when Emily's hands started shaking, that was her mind yelling at her to appease everyone. To be inhumanly perfect for every living soul. 

She didn't intend to come of so...bitchy about it, so mean about it. She just wanted Emily to put herself first. She didn't want Emily to put more on her plate, just because she didn't want to let Toby down. Or let the chief down. Or the community. She just wanted Emily to focus on getting better, because she needed her to get better. 

"I just don't want you to stress yourself out, okay?" Ali used her free hand to brush the back portion of her fingers on Emily's cheek. "Just promise me if it gets to be too much, you let Toby know."

"Okay." Emily sighed, and relaxed into Alison's touch. Their brief moment of peace was quickly broken however, by a knock coming from the doorway. 

"I thought I told you to keep yourself out of here, Emily." 

Emily recognized the voice immediately. It was her all-time favorite nurse, Sandra Johnson, who was just about the only one she liked actually. She was assigned Emily's room frequently last time she was in the hospital. Emily went back and forth between staying in the hospital and going home when she was just a high schooler. 

She had school work to finish. Her mother was rarely home, nor was she always present when Emily needed her most. The brunette understood what her mother was going through. She was diagnosed with cancer, her father was just in a major accident that resulted in the loss of functioning limbs, and she had to work everyday in order to keep the family afloat. What Pam didn't know then was at the time, Emily started her little painting job. 

She didn't paint as often, or sell nearly as many paintings as she did now, but she knew that back then every dime was crucial to her family. She had taken out loans, in order to attend online college, and to help out the family. 

Not a single part of the Fields clan liked to talk about anything that happened the previous time Emily was diagnosed. Pam felt guilty. She hated that she wasn't able to give her ailing daughter her undivided attention. Wayne lost himself for a while. He felt worthless. He wasn't able to help Pam with everyday expenses, let alone the lump sum of medical bills that had been piling up. His wife was working her ass off for their family, his daughter was practically fighting cancer all alone, and he was trapped. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he willed his toes to move, they just wouldn't. 

As shitty as her parents felt, Emily felt worse. It was all her doing. It was all her fault. She was the reason her mom had to work so damn hard. She was the reason her dad was paralyzed. She was the reason her family was in such a bind with money. She was the reason her parents had to move away. Now, she was going to be the reason for even more people's sufferings.

"Hey." Her voice rasped out as she looked up at the woman in the doorway. Roughly five, almost six, years had passed and the woman looked practically the same as she did the last time they had seen each other. Her strawberry blonde hair was longer, and her face aged just the slightest bit, but she was still the same as she was before. 

The woman smiled and fully entered the room. She saw that Alison, or Dr. DiLaurentis in her case, was sitting at Emily's bedside. She was hidden behind the half drawn curtain in the room. "Oh, Dr. DiLaurentis. Are you following up with something? I can come back in a minute." 

Alison completely forgot that she was still in her scrubs and her white coat. She immediately clocked out, and then ran as fast as her legs could carry her to Emily's room. "Oh," Alison smiled, she knew Sandra pretty well, Alison was always checking in on her patients pretty frequently who resided in the tenth floor. It seemed as though almost everyone of her patients, Sandra was assigned as their nurse. "Not here as a doctor today."

Sandra was already at the computer in the corner of the room, scanning the medication into the computer system to update Emily's file. "I'm sorry I'm late getting you your dosage Emily. I got caught up with another patient." 

Sandra grabbed the bag containing the chemotherapy drug and hung it on the infusion stand. "I'm going to clip this to your port, okay? Could you pull your gown down a bit so I can attach it?" Sandra found out very quickly that Emily liked to be told what was happening, even if she didn't understand what the words meant. 

Emily pulled on the loose gown that hung off her shoulder, allowing Sandra to access her port. Sandra was fiddling with it when she finally spoke again, "I heard Shane complaining that you were off the market, I just had no idea you were with Emily. Small world." Sandra glanced at Alison, sending her work superior a genuine smile. 

"Yeah." Alison smiled. It was a small world indeed. 

"Okay." Sandra broke out of the small chit chat moment. She pulled Emily's gown back up to her shoulder. She grabbed Emily's free hand and held it, something that definitely didn't go unnoticed by Alison. "You know the drill. If you need anything, absolutely anything Emily, you press that call button." 

Emily hummed, nodding her head, but never opening up her eyes. "Okay then. I'll be back to check on you in a little while."

Sandra left the room, being watched by a pair of icy blue eyes. Once the door click shut, Alison looked back at Emily whose eyes were still shut. Alison let her mind race about what is going on. It was finally one thousand percent real. Emily was sick, and all she could do was hold on to her hand. She could hold on and pray, the rest was out of her hands. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to operate on Emily if something needed to be fixed that called for her department's work. 

"Are you going to tell me about your day?" Emily's rough voice pulled her out of her little day dream.

So she did. She told Emily almost every detail of her day, hoping that it would make roughly an hour go by fast. Although what needed up happening, is Alison burned through her day in fifteen minutes. It seemed as though Emily had fallen asleep, and when Sandra came in only to see Emily asleep, she threw a smile at Alison and left the room. 

However, Emily wasn't asleep. She just couldn't will herself to move, or to speak, in order to keep herself from throwing up. She was already extremely nauseous, and she still had about half the bag the still needed to infiltrate her blood. It was crucial to keep every ounce of the dreadful chemotherapy drug in her system.

Sandra came in and disconnected the chemo bag from Emily's port. She quietly whispered to Alison, seeing if she needed anything before she left the room. Emily had been quietly groaning for the last half hour, so Alison wasn't surprised when Emily had done so frequently in the last five minutes. Her focus was on the now black television screen. Emily had asked her to turn it off as soon as her dosage started. But when Emily finally talked, just minutes before Alison was getting ready to leave for the night. 

"They said you can take me home anytime for the night as long as I'm pretty good shape." Alison jumped at the low words coming from her girlfriends mouth. She was so in tune with the silence, she wasn't prepared for any noise. "So you'll take me home sometime?" 

"How about Thanksgiving?" She watched Emily's beautiful, chocolatey eyes open halfway. She had the smallest smile on her face while she nodded in approval. "Everyone will be so excited to see you. Jason's wife, Clarissa and their little boy Tyler-you know the one that wouldn't stop following you around last year? They'll be there, so I'm sure he'll be super excited." 

"That sounds perfect." Emily mumbled, she wanted to reach out for Alison's hand again, but refrained herself from doing so. 

"Are you okay, babe? Do you need anything?" Alison asked, standing at the head of the bed now. She noticed the look of discomfort in Emily's eyes straightaway. Her hand gently swiped along the top of Emily's head, her hand being covered in a thin layer of sweat. 

"I'm fine." She closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of Alison's hand rubbing along her scalp. It felt ten time better when she had hair, but it was still heavenly.

Ali leaned down to press a delicate kiss on Emily's lips, preparing herself to say goodbye to Emily until tomorrow morning. It was the first time in months that Alison would be sleeping alone again, and she was no where near prepared. 

That was one thing Alison missed all those years she had abandoned her love life. She loved having someone warm to share the bed with. Sometimes she would call Spencer to have a sleepover when she knew that Toby was working midnights. Ali always had a tendency to cling onto people during her sleep. With Emily, sometimes it was different. Alison would cling onto her, or vise versa, but when Emily was trying to go to sleep: she liked to be free. If she was exhausted, she'd fall asleep without gently peeling Alison off of her, or moving off of Alison, but normally she pulled away to keep herself cooler. Every night, Alison would move to the end of her pillow to be as close to Emily as possible, while still tending to the brunette's needs.

"Can you bring me pajama pants tomorrow? It's kind of cold here." 

"Of course." Ali ran her thumb along Emily's jaw. Her eyes took in every detail of Emily's face she possibly could. "I'll have Sandra grab you another blanket on my way out too." 

Emily nodded, she too was holding her gaze with Alison. She loved Ali's eyes. So much that she used a similar shade of blue to Alison's eyes in every painting that it was appropriate to use the color blue. 

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be in bright and early." Ali didn't want to go, but she knew that Emily needed to sleep, and she could feel herself growing more and more tired. "Get some sleep." She leaned down once again, this time savoring every second that hers and Emily's lips were connected. "I love you Em." 

"Love you too, Als." 

Alison stopped at the nurses station to let Sandra know that Emily was awake, so she could check on her and bring in a couple more blankets. 

"How is she doing?" Sandra asked, she was off the past three days and she was wondering when Emily was admitted. 

"Okay." Ali shrugged, not exactly sure of the extent of all the emotions Emily felt. But she was pretty damn sure that Emily didn't like it. She knew that Emily hated hospitals, she saw it in her eyes the first time she was conducting an interview the second time they saw each other. "She's not really comfortable with the whole student nurse thing, but I'm sure that'll get better with time." 

"When I turn her over to them in the morning, I'll be sure to talk with the two nurses taking over for the day." 

"That would mean a lot to her." Alison smiled as she mindlessly twirled her thumbs. "She's just afraid, I think." 

"Yeah, I'll be sure to stick some tips and tricks that I've found to work on the front of her file so everyone can see it." Sandra peeked at the clock, and in doing so, noticed a call light that had gone off. "Duty calls. But I'll get her those blankets and hopefully she'll be more comfortable tomorrow." 

"Thank you." 

Alison crawled into bed, finally feeling her muscles relax after an excruciatingly long day. The one thing that could make her day better, was missing. All she wanted was to lay on Emily's chest while the girl's fingers combed through her hair and coaxed her to sleep. She wouldn't be doing much of that tonight; sleep. The whole ride home she thought of Emily, the whole time she was making something to eat for herself, she thought of the brunette. All she could do was pull Emily's pillow close to her, and let Emily's scent fill the void. 

Alison scheduled the same shift as last year for Thanksgiving, she would get off at two, and on Christmas she would be done at her normal time, just about seven o'clock. She was a little excited for tonight, Emily would get to go home for the night, and they planned a little birthday surprise for her. Unfortunately, Emily's parents had to travel back home so Pam could work, but they already planned on coming back to celebrate Christmas with them. In order to accommodate Emily leaving at two, she got her first radiation therapy early in the morning, and then again right before lunch time. 

Over the past two weeks, Alison could tell that Emily was becoming more and more sluggish. Sure, she would have a few days here and there where she seemed like absolutely nothing was wrong. But when the sun went down, Emily was just exhausted beyond belief. She'd fall asleep just about ten minutes after Alison came into her room to visit for the night. She just hoped that tonight, Emily would have a bit of energy. Her parents hadn't had time to visit Emily yet, they were feverishly working on the fundraising event for her benefit.

She picked Emily up, who was all ready to break out of the hospital for the first time. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a plaid shirt that Alison brought for her the previous day. Of course, Alison wouldn't let her go outside without her hat, because she couldn't afford to get sick. 

It was no surprise that Alison's family babied the hell out of Emily. Except for Tyler, he wanted to play with Emily the whole time, and she happily obliged. She had offered to help cook, set the table, or even clean something because she's been stuck in the damn hospital for two weeks with nothing to do. Tyler was the only one who treated her like a normal person, but then again, he was only five years old. 

Emily didn't eat very much at dinner, a disliking to both Alison and Jessica. She barely ate anything, compared to what she usually ate. Usually she was able to polish off a second helping, but it looked like she barely touched a thing on her whole plate. Alison kept trying to get her to eat some more, but for the most part she was unsuccessful. She watched Emily slide the food around her plate, not looking very interested in anything on the plate whatsoever. But, Alison was glad that she did get some food in her system, that's just about the best she could ask for.

It was the DiLaurentis tradition to finish eating and then cozy up on the couch, waiting for desert and for the football game to start. After everyone was finished eating, Emily finally got to help out a bit. Alison and herself took care of the dishes, giving Jessica a rest. Emily had the duty of washing, and Alison took on the duty of drying and putting away all the dishes.

Emily took a scoop of bubbles in her hand while Alison's back was turned. When Alison turned around, she caught Emily's eyes that were full of adoration. Ali leaned in perfect synchronization with Emily. She felt Emily's soft tongue infiltrate her mouth, the motion eliciting a moan. Emily smiled, pulling back to see Ali's eyes still closed. She took her hand full of bubbles and smeared it across Alison's face.

"Emily!" Alison's eyes shot open, quickly wiping the bubbles off of her face. She fell into a fit of laughter, joining the brunette who was already laughing. Alison reached over Emily's arms, grabbing some bubbles in both hands herself, and smearing them all over the laughing brunette's head. Everyone in the living room listened to the pair laugh, and all of them expressing how adorable the couple in the kitchen was.

What started out as doing a nice deed for Mrs. DiLaurentis, ended in the pair causing a bigger mess than they began with. There was water everywhere, and there was still dishes to be cleaned. "You'll probably teach our kids to do this type of shit." Ali laughed, side eyeing Emily as she wiped the floor down with a towel. 

"Well of course." Emily smiled, turning from the dish that she was cleaning to look down at the blonde. "Don't worry though, we'll team up on mini Ali too."

"You think we'll have a girl?" Alison stood, throwing the towel on the kitchen counter. She moved to the counter space to the left of her girlfriend. She pressed her back into the counter so she could face Emily. She watched Emily's face, watching her eyebrows furrow as she furiously scrubbed at a plate that had food stuck to it. "I think it'll be a boy. You're so good with Tyler, he loves you. I think we'll have the most adorable family on the planet."

"I know we'll have a girl." Emily didn't even turn her attention off of the dishes, instead she pointed at the accumulating pile of dishes in the right hand side of the sink. Ali sighed, but still smiling, as she returned to her dish job. "Want to bet on it?" Emily shot a daring look to Ali, knowing that the blonde was just as competitive as she was. 

"Oh, your so on." Alison bumped her shoulder into Emily's. She thought for a second before she added, "loser has to take the other out on a date."

"You got yourself a deal, DiLaurentis."

Emily was completely surprised when a cake was brought out during halftime of the football game. To be honest, she was partially asleep. Alison and herself were sitting on the reclining chair, with Alison's body molded into her own, she was incredibly comfortable. The Packers weren't playing, so she didn't really care if she missed some of the game. But she definitely didn't expect a cake, or any presents but yet, the entire DiLaurentis family had bought her something.

Whether it was a simple grey short sleeved shirt, a small plastic bracelet from Tyler and Jason's wife, or a simple silver chain with a cross, she loved it all. Alison had brought her present, a new pair of fuzzy pajama pants on her actual birthday. 

Not long after their showering of Emily with gifts and eating cake, Alison noticed how tired Emily was, so she bid goodbye to everyone and took the tan girl home so she could rest. On the ride home Emily thought about how damn lucky she was. It was one thing to be as loved as she was by Alison. Finding a love like that was finding a needle in a field of hay. But to be loved by the entire family like she was, it was unreal to Emily. 

Emily's family was very, very small. Her parents were both an only child, and she was an only child. Both sides of her grandparents died before she was even born, so she felt like her own family was her parents. It was always the three of them, no matter what. She felt blessed. She was with the most amazing woman on the planet, and she was granted with the best, hopefully future, in-law family. 

The night went by so quickly for Alison. She wished that Emily was going to be home on a different day, because she knew that today would have flown by just as fast as it actually did. When they got home, Alison changed out of her dress, while Emily shed her clothes and got in the shower. The nurses told Emily that she would need to close up her intravenous lines, but thank god for Alison. Alison could successfully seal off her intravenous lines with tape when she was ready to shower, instead of having to go all day with the tape around her arm.

Alison sat in bed, reading a magazine while she waited for Emily to get out of the shower. She was so engrossed into the design of a living room in the magazine that she hadn't noticed Emily emerge from the master bathroom. Almost like it was just as it was before, Emily crawled on top of Alison, stuffing her nose into the blonde's neck. Ali smiled, she wanted to cry because she was so happy. She missed her nightly snuggles with Emily so much the past two weeks.

Almost immediately though, Emily rolled off to allow Alison to cuddle into her side, like they had always done every night. Alison closed her magazine and put it on her nightstand, turning out the light and throwing the covers over herself more so she could fall asleep right away. Emily let out a moan, "oh my god." It came out as half a whine. Ali threw her arm over Emily's bare torso, but not putting her head on the warm girl's chest like she normally did. She didn't want to disrupt the port in anyway, instead she shoved her face in Emily's neck, just like the brunette did just moments ago.

Emily hummed again, making Alison giggle. She could only imagine how comfortable the bed felt now. "You're cute babe."

"I love you so much, Alison."

"I know you do Em." Her fingers danced along Emily's scalp. It was true, and it was true to anyone who was around the couple. It was clear in Emily's eyes. Just the amount of love she could hold in her eyes was evident to anyone. But the love that Emily had in her heart was insurmountable. "I love you more." Alison toyed, she knew that Emily would never be that person, because she didn't want them to be that couple that kept going back and forth between who loved who more. 

"Perhaps, but you're the only love I have known. And you'll be the only love in my lifetime."

Alison knew how special Emily was to her. Alison had loved a few people before Emily. A couple people really had a hold of her heart, but none of them came close to the death grip that Emily had on her heart. She knew now that her earlier loves weren't meant to work out. Either she wasn't ready, or they weren't ready. Or it wasn't a real love. But she knew, she would bet the world, that this one was real. 

She knew it because she didn't chase it. It blindsided her. She wasn't expecting it, she waltzed into it one day, and from then on she was hooked. The real love is the one you don't see coming. It was so easy, it was insanely easy to love Emily. It was the love that everyone waits to stumble upon, but no one ever gets there because it seems completely wrong. This love, this insanely real and genuine type of love, it seems like is destined to be wrong from the start. That's why so many people never find it; it's not how the person envisions their love to be.

Did she expect her real love to be working practically two jobs everyday, live in the worst apartment she's ever laid eyes on, drive an old truck, play football, to have the traits of both a guy and a girl, to be shy and awkward sometimes? Absolutely not. She always pictured she would marry a man, or a woman, who was in good fortune like herself. She imagined that she would find her love in Wisconsin, but that was far from the case. 

Alison couldn't be happier to have been blindsided by a love so powerful.

Emily could hear Alison cry, and the tears that escaped the blonde along with the shaking of her body. But when Emily looked down at Ali, she saw the blonde smiling, the tears falling yet she was still smiling like a goof. 

"Do you cry every time I say something?" Emily questioned, trying to get the blonde to laugh, in which her intent was successful. The right arm that was wrapped around Alison's body squeezed her tighter, before Emily's hand landed in her hair and started massaging her scalp. "Even though you cry like it's your superpower, I still love you like crazy." 

Alison stayed up half the night, tracing over every inch of Emily's exposed skin. She admired how ginormous Emily's heart was. She had never met a person in her life whose heart was even half as big as Emily's. That she knew the first time they had talked, long before they had become an item. Emily was the type of person you dream about being friends with because you knew you had a snow ball's chance in hell of being with someone like her.

Guess her snow ball was pretty damn lucky.


	22. Chapter 22

Alison had made it her mission to make this Christmas memorable for Emily. It was the brunette's favorite holiday, and she would be at home for three days. She was terrified that it may also be the last time Emily is alive for her favorite holiday. The oncologist declared that they needed to amp up Emily's dosages even more. Apparently the small tumors in Emily's lung were not shrinking like they had hoped for. No, instead they were growing larger, and a few very small ones appeared. They were still hopeful though, the tumors that had grown were still considered fairly small. In one lung, the two little pesky tissue demons, were actually shrinking. 

Luckily, Emily's oncologist had allowed Emily to go home for the holidays. It helped that Sandra had offered to head to their household to administer the drugs. But doctor Dixon, Emily's oncologist, had shown Alison how to hook up the chemo, not that she didn't already know how too, and allowed Ali and Emily to have the best holiday they could. Doctor Dixon felt comfortable letting Emily go home. Ali herself was a doctor, and the type of care Ali showed while she was visiting was definitely above the standard care that Emily needed. 

Just about two weeks ago, Emily had to be tube fed for three days. She didn't have the stomach to eat. It only made her nausea worse. Plus, she never felt all that hungry. The first day and a half that she was being tube fed, the food never stayed in her system. She threw up every trace of food that hit her stomach. Since she was now back to eating a fair amount of solid food, there were no concerns in that department as of now.

The chief of surgery, Alison's boss since she arrived at the hospital all those years ago, had allowed Alison to leave close to five. He too, wanted Alison to enjoy her holidays with her girlfriend, as well as her mini three day vacation. 

Emily's entire figure was smaller. Her face was sunken in. Her arms and shoulders were bony, and it was assumed that all her muscle mass was lost on the rest of her clothed body.

"Em?" Alison took her eye off the road for a quick second to take a glance at her brunette. It was hard not to crumble this afternoon seeing Emily drown in her sweatshirt and thin jacket. 

"Yeah Al?" 

Alison smiled, averting her focus back to the road. "Spencer and Toby wanted to come over tomorrow night." Alison put the car in park. She quickly rushed over to the passenger side to help Emily out of the car, but Emily was already making her way inside. Alison jogged to catch up with Emily, before she continued, "only if you're up for it of course. Do you feel okay with that?"

"I feel fine. Tell them to come." Emily replied, opening the door. The house's scent hitting her nose, something that she's missed. "I feel great." Emily said again reassuring Alison, shedding her layers with a smile. She gripped Ali's hand, dragging her through their living room. "In fact.." Emily stopped her sentence, wiggling her eyebrows at Ali as she pulled the blonde upstairs.

"Babe, are you sure?" Alison spoke through a moan as her back hit the bed. She pushed her palms against Emily's shoulders, pushing the woman hovering above her so she could read her face. Alison's breathing picked up at the thought of jumping in to bed with Emily. God knows she's missed and craved Emily in that way, but the last thing she wanted to do was push Emily too far.

They were originally planning on starting their Christmas celebration at nine, giving Alison and Emily both enough time to get home from the hospital and head over to Alison's parents house. Emily's parents have already been at the DiLaurentis house for a while now, according to a text from Jessica. But now they had a little time to kill, since Emily needed her dosage for tonight now. Alison glanced at the clock quickly, seeing that it was five thirty, which gave them plenty of time.

"God, I want you so bad baby." Emily grounded her hips against Alison, eliciting a moan at the feeling. Her hands fumbled with Alison blouse and her lips attached to her neck. 

Alison herself let out moan after moan, her body begging for Emily's touch. "I'm all yours." Alison gripped on to Emily's shirt collar, bringing her in for a fiery kiss. Their lips mounded together, their tongues clashed. Alison's hands fumbled to rip down Emily's jeans and boxers in one swift motion. 

"Anyway I want?" Emily husked. She moaned seconds later when her throbbing member was popped free. She lightly bit down on Alison's neck, soothing it a second later with her tongue. 

"Anyway you want." Alison whispered in confirmation, she didn't even bother to attempt to contain her moans, despite the fact that she so desperately wanted too. After Emily took her clothes off and both girls were completely naked against one another, Alison couldn't help the loud moans that escaped her lips. Especially when Emily plunged two fingers into her core. She thought her moans were embarrassing, but they were only turning the brunette on more.

"I want to taste you." Emily whispered. Before Alison could even respond, she slid down Alison's body that was glistening. Emily's arms hooked around Alison's hips, bringing her core closer to meet her hungry lips. Her tongue darted in and out of Alison's dripping center, making the blonde moan out in pleasure. Emily's tongue and fingers were undoubtedly magical and they made Alison feel like nothing she had before. 

Quickly Emily's tongue was replaced with her own throbbing need. She pinned Alison down with one hand, while the other pinched at Alison's erect nipples. Emily let out a squeaked groan upon finally entering the blonde. She found it incredibly hard not to keep her high from taking over. Just seeing Alison naked for the first time in months made Emily want to cum already. She took the pace slow, and completely stopping at points when she was about to release inside of Alison herself.

She pulled out of Alison and flipped her over, pushing her to lie on her stomach. Emily gripped onto the blonde's curvy hips and roughly slammed in and out of the blonde. The bed was squeaking, Emily was letting out guttural groan after groan, and Alison was screaming. 

"Em," Alison's words died in her mouth and turned into another loud moan. Emily's teeth sunk into her neck, soon being replaced by her soft tongue. Alison's breathing became sporadic, and her moans were louder.

"You feel so good baby." Emily moaned, taking a slap at Alison's round ass. 

Alison felt Emily's shaft meet with that special, velvety like bundle inside of her. Alison was feverishly chanting out Emily's name, as she felt the pleasure coursing through her body. She felt it rippling through her veins like a tidal wave, and the wave broke into the rest of her body. "Fuck." She muttered, reaching a hand back to grip onto Emily's neck. 

Emily quickly flipped Alison back over while she kept her pace at a pounding rhythm. Emily herself was starting to moan uncontrollably again, taking a nipple into her mouth to extinguish her cries. Ali felt herself begin to build up again already. Emily was continually hitting that oh-so-special spot inside of her, and the way her tongue was working her breast was a deadly combination. "Oh my god."

Emily huffed out, her head falling onto the blondes shoulder as she finally hit her peak. Her hot breath hit Alison's collarbone. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas babe." Emily was panting on her girl's shoulder for no more than thirty seconds before Ali's hand gently rubbed her back in a soothing matter.

"Are you okay?" Emily could hear the concern in her voice, and knew that the blonde carried even more in her eyes.

"I'm fine." She lied easily between breaths, just like she had earlier. All she wanted was a normal holiday spent at home. "Just give me a minute." But she wasn't one hundred percent fine. Her chest hurt. Her lungs ached, and it made them hurt worse to breathe so heavily, and she was lightheaded. She suddenly felt dizzy, just the slightest movement of her head and she felt like she was about to throw up. As carefully, and as normally as she could, she rolled off of Alison, leaving her forearm to rest against her forehead. 

"I love you." Alison whispered, squeezing herself into the brunette's shoulder. Emily's arm dropped from the top of her head, coming to a rest around Ali's neck and on the top of her chest. 

Emily hummed, gently nudging her head against Ali's once the dizziness had passed. She spoke, but it wasn't coherent to the blonde. Ali ran her thumb over Emily's frail body. She let tears seep into the brunette's skin, unintentionally. She didn't want anything to wake her up and cause any potential discomfort. Ali took moment to be thankful and cherish this moment she had with Emily. She missed cuddling up with the brunette in the comfy bed. Alison finally forced herself to peel away from the sleeping brunette. She decided to take a quick shower before Emily and herself had to head over to her parents house. She had connected the chemo to Emily's port as soon as the brunette fell asleep. She figured that the sleeping girl would be perfectly okay for fifteen minutes while she cleaned herself up.

Ali had emerged from the bathroom and begun digging through Emily's clothes to pick out something to wear for the brunette. Emily's voice made her nearly jump out of her skin. "Where's Nicole?" Alison looked at Emily, her heart sinking at the question. The brunette looked so concerned and hurt at the same time. 

"She's gone, Em. You guys-" Ali tried explaining the current situation, but unfortunately Emily interfered.

"She's out cheating on me again?" Emily let out a whine and plopped both of her arms on the side of her head. A second later she shakily stood, and looked around the room. She huffed, pulling the nightstand drawer on Ali's side of the bed open. She rummaged through the contents of the top drawer, letting out another whine when she came up empty handed.

"What are you looking for babe?" Alison put the neatly folded pile of black skinny jeans and Emily's Christmas sweater that had gingerbread cookies on it. She quickly gripped onto Emily's arm, fearful that she was going to try and move while she was still connected to the infusion stand. 

"My phone. I-I need to call Nicole a-and get her here." Emily's eyes kept scanning the room. 

"Hey, Em," Alison cupped Emily's cheeks in her hands, forcing the brunette to look at her. "Do you know who I am?" Ali could see the inner panic in Emily's eyes, and above all, the amount of pain that was hiding behind the little bit of light that was showing. She wanted to snap Emily back to the present time, in hopes to relieve Emily of those feelings.

She watched Emily's mouth open and close, her eyebrows furrowed, and she blinked hard; as if she was trying to get the information to suddenly come to her brain. "It's me, Alison." 

"Alison Crowley?"

Ali sighed, she knew that it was highly unlikely that she would be able to break Emily of the vision she was having. But, she knew that it would eventually pass. "Yeah," Ali faked a smile and pointed to the pile of clothes on the edge of the bed "I'm going to help you get dressed okay? We need to get you to see your parents for Christmas."

"It's Christmas?" Instantly, Emily's eyes lit up and the scowl that was on her face was replaced by a genuine smile. Alison sat Emily down on the bed, but Emily flopped down, making Alison's job of getting her dressed pretty hard. Emily was humming Christmas songs and dancing as best as she could to them. She became quiet, Alison thought because she was slipping boxers and jeans on Emily that her actions were the cause of the brunette to suddenly halt her singing. Brown doe eyes locked onto sapphire ones before Emily's voice filled the silence. "Am I cheating on her?"

"No. No, you're the perfect girlfriend." Alison assured her, a comforting hand being placed on top of the brunette's shaking hands.

Alison had managed to get Emily into her car, and drive them both to her parents house. They were still early, even though they had to make a pit stop along the way. Zoe greeted them happily at the door, before they arrived, Zoe hadn't stopped growling at Wayne and Pam. She was jumping on Emily's legs, excited that she was finally visiting again. The four parents quickly met the duo at the door, giving them both long hugs. Alison guided Emily to the couch that was directly in front of the Christmas tree. Alison placed the gifts they had brought under the tree and headed for the kitchen. Emily was still a bit hazy, so she figured that the brunette would enjoy staring at the tree, even if she didn't really have any idea whatsoever where she was. Zoe would take good care of her, the small dog curling up on Emily's lap to protect her favorite human. 

The remaining five went in the kitchen to get everything set up for them to eat. Jessica, Pam, and Alison were just finishing up with a couple of the dishes. Wayne held all the utensils while Kenneth set the table. After the two were finished, they both went out into the garage to pick out their choice of wine for the evening. 

"Thank you guys for inviting Wayne and I tonight." Pam spoke up while she was currently making the gravy. "I don't want to forget, but it means a lot to us." Pam smiled up at Jessica. The two mothers had gotten along really well actually. 

"Wherever Emily is welcome, you both are welcome as well."

"I can't thank your entire family enough for what you've done for her." Pam dropped her head, "you probably think I'm a terrible mother, but I've only done the absolute best I could for her." Pam discreetly wiped a tear. "I know I never have, and never will, win best mother of the year..but I've been there for her every chance I could."

"Pam." Jessica dropped the knife she was using to cut up the salad and walked over to the older Fields woman. She embraced her in a tight hug, rubbing her hand up and down her back to soothe her. "We don't think you're a bad mother. I wouldn't even know what to do. With Jason," Jessica cleared her throat. It was obviously still a touchy subject for their entire family. All three remaining DiLaurentis' would cry every now and then. "With Jason, I didn't know how to even feel for a week, let alone working, and having my husband in the hospital. Emily was here for us, letting us all know what was going on, checking in on us, and giving us the closure that we haven't come to terms with quite yet, but the closure that we definitely need." Jessica turned her head to look at her daughter. 

Ali watched as her mother and Pam shared their moment. She loved that the two got very close. It was a really nice feeling, just knowing, that their parents got along. Even their fathers' got along well too. She smiled at her mom when she looked over at her, only to be teased a second later. "She was here even when one of us pushed her away."

Pam pushed back, smiling and laughing. Her moment of sadness well gone. "Plus," Ali finally decided to butt in, "Emily always has the nicest things to say about you two. She knows that you're both there for her." 

Pam was about to reply, but a small voice from the living room broke their moment. 

"Ali?"

"In the kitchen babe." Ali yelled back, all three women immediately jumping back to their dishes. Ali was making the mashed potatoes, she was just adding the milk when she felt Emily's arms around her waist. Emily kissed her pulse point, making her smile uncontrollably. 

"It smells delicious in here." Emily spoke to the entire room, placing her chin on Alison's shoulder, and watching her mix the potatoes together. 

"We had to go with your favorite Em. A little birdie told me that it's prime rib." Jessica smiled and winked at Pam. Emily hadn't even noticed that her parents were here already.

"Mom." Emily sighed happily, leaving Ali's side and rushing into her mother's embrace.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Ali joked. Both DiLaurentis women stopped their work and watched the two Fields women. 

Emily held her mom, her eyes closed, and a smile on her face. If only Pam could see Emily now. "I missed you."

After they were all finished eating, Emily being the one done first solely because she ate the least amount of food, they all got comfortable in the living room. Emily got situated in hers and Alison's chair that was designated to them any time that the duo came to visit. Pam as on the couch next to Wayne and the DiLaurentis'. Alison settled on the floor, designating herself as the present distributor. 

The presents were overflowing from the Christmas tree. The presents were piled high, well past Alison's chest. Being that there were six of them there was an overabundance of presents, especially since all six loved this time of year. Not surprising to anyone besides Emily, the brunette had the most presents under the tree. Emily had built a bird house for Jessica, months ago not recently, for her to attach to one of the trees out back. Jessica loved to bird watch while she enjoyed her cup of Joe in the morning. Kenneth almost lost it over his gift from Emily; two tickets for a Packer game at the end of January. Emily had also gotten her parents a magnificent gift. She had a laid out blueprint for a remodel of their kitchen: the project wouldn't start until the beginning of spring, just to let her parents change any details of the plans if they wanted. 

Alison took in a good haul of presents herself. Her parents bought her some essentials for work. Pen lights, a new stethoscope, pens, and as a joke some reading glasses. The had also printed a canvas of a cabin in the woods; her grandfather's cabin. She had received a couple pictures of her and Emily in picture frames for her desk from the brunette's parents. Pam and Wayne had also gifted the blonde a travel mug that said "I'm a surgeon, what's your superpower?" 

She had opened her gifts from Emily last, full well knowing that the brunette would want her to go last. She had three gifts from Emily, all in various size boxes. One was small, one was medium sized, and one was on the larger side. She decide on the medium one first, the box containing some clothes that Alison had been wanting to order, but never acting on her impulse to buy clothes. The cutesy summer clothes, comfy sweats, and sharp dress up items were much loved by Ali. The small box contained two items of jewelry, a bracelet that read "You're My Person" and a small, diamond necklace. 

Alison was in love with them. She loved Grey's Anatomy. She loved the necklace. She loved jewelry. Ali would have been overly joyous if she had just received the jewelry, let alone the clothes. Yet, she still had another present to go. Ali wanted to savor this one, ripping open the wrapping slowly. She got the biggest smile on her face once she saw the details of the box. "Emily." She smiled, pushing herself off the floor and jumping into Emily's lap for a hug. Again, her knee had unluckily smashed into Emily's groin, causing the brunette to moan. "Sorry," she whispered in Emily's ear, then gently gripping her chin towards her so she could connect their lips. Emily had gotten her an original, still in the box, Super Nintendo.

Alison slipped off of Emily to give the last of the presents to their owner, Emily. Jessica and Kenneth's present to Emily was combined in an envelope. Jessica had written out a business contract to sell Emily's paintings at her store. She could back out of the contract at any time, and she would be getting eighty percent of the proceeds from each sale. It was helpful to know, and for Emily to quickly sign, that her paintings would easily sell for triple of what she's been selling them at. Especially after her work would be shown off to a majority of the community at the auction, which happened to be Kenneth's present. It was a folded poster, detailing the night of the big event which were to happen the first weekend of January.

The brunette's parents had gotten her some essential clothing items. Mainly some socks, and higher end boxers, but she also received a couple short sleeved shirts and a new hoodie. Emily liked obtaining presents that she would use all the time, so her parents gifts to her were perfect. Not that Emily needed the presents in order to feel happy and like it was Christmas, but that was just a plus. 

Ali handed over the gigantic box she had put all of Emily's thing in to her. She watched her face flush with admiration at the two Nike hats she ordered long ago, a Packers tie blanket, and a signed helmet from Randall Cobb. She watched Emily's face scrunch up, completely confused when she found the piece of paper at the bottom of the box. "Baby?" Emily looked down at the blonde while she held the paper in her hands. 

"It's funny," Alison started, thinking how ironic this Christmas was "you got your parents a remodel, and I got you one." 

"What? This says-"

"I know that it says land ownership in my name, but my dad was going to give it to Jason. Now it got passed down to me, and I've seen you work: on the bird house, on your parents blueprints, on Ms. Jenkins' desk. I wanted you to build our home, but I'd at least like you to design it for us with the way things are right now. I want you to feel like it's as much of your home as it is mine. What do you say?" At this point, Alison had already crawled towards the brunette, holding onto her hand and looking into those brown eyes that showed so much love for herself. 

"I love it." Emily said, slowly pulling herself out of the chair that was practically eating her so she could kiss the blonde.

Not long after, the two went home. The car was filled with their presents and a bug plate of leftovers sat in Emily's lap. Emily made her way into the living room, while Ali had put their gifts away, changed, and grabbed some popcorn for them to share. Emily had no desire to walk up the stairs and back down, so she discarded her pants and sweater in a heap to the side of the couch, leaving her in her boxers and sorts bra. 

Alison came back into the living room, bringing a couple glasses of water as well as the popcorn. She grabbed a blanket from the downstairs closet and leaned into Emily's side on the couch. Alison couldn't tell what Emily had put on for them, it seemed like the movie was paused on a frame of a sunset. 

"What are we watching?" Alison broke the silence after a minute. Emily didn't say anything to her since they walked in the door. 

"I wanted to watch the sunset and watch the stars with my girl. So I made it happen." Emily husked out, showing her pearly whites to her girlfriend. 

They sat in a comfortable silence before Alison had broke it. "Everyone loved their presents from you, Em. How did you get so much stuff?" 

"I told you, I had enough saved to head to the Super Bowl." Emily smiled, pressing her cheek into the top of Alison's head. "You didn't think yours was too stalkerish? You're not mad I went on your computer to see what was still left in your virtual cart?" 

Alison chuckled, tightening her grip around Emily's left thigh. "No." She huffed out a laugh again, "no, I though it was sweet."

Alison enjoyed watching the sunset and the stars. It was something that Emily had always liked to do, so it was nice to get some normalcy back into both of their lives. But that wouldn't last for long. Around three thirty in the morning, Alison was awoken by a strange, rhythmic sound. It was a mixture between a wheeze and a cry. Not a moment later, she felt Emily's hand hit her stomach. 

Her heart completely dropped, she knew something was terribly wrong. She quickly switched on the light and saw that Emily was grasping at her chest. "Hey, just hold on a second." Alison tried to remain calm, quickly she propped Emily up on a pillow hoping to give her easier access to air. "I'll be right back." Alison made sure to kiss her girlfriend's perfect lips before she left the room. Quickly, she called and ambulance and ran straight back to Emily once it was on its way. 

She replaced her own body with the pillows, and held Emily in her arms while she grasped for air. Ali didn't even realize she was crying until Emily wheezed to her, "don't cry." She had to take a moment to recapture her breath again. "I'm okay."

Alison nodded, but could tell how hard it was for Emily to breathe. She was in such an emotional state, that she couldn't think of any idea what could be wrong. She listened to Emily's wheezing, strangled breath, hoping that it wouldn't be the last sound she'd ever hear from the brunette. The last thing she ever wanted to hear from Emily is how much she loved her. And definitely not under the circumstances of dying this young. She wanted to hear it when they were old, smelly, and senile. 

"Just breathe with me, Em." Alison wouldn't take her eyes of those brown orbs. She prayed that she wouldn't have to see the little light that was left, drain from those precious eyes. 

It was torturous for Alison when she had to be separated from Emily. Spencer and the Chief had been called in, and they took Emily into the operating room. This gave her a chance to call both her parents, and Emily's parents. One thing that eased her mind, just the slightest bit, was the doctors working on her girlfriend were the best around. The special girl she called hers was in the operating room, probably terrified of what was happening. She sat in the waiting room, her head in her hands, just praying. Begging. She needed Spencer to come out and tell her everything was okay. That they had fixed her. That she could finally go see her. 

A part of her wanted to bust out of the hospital and run until she couldn't feel anything anymore. Another part of her wanted to go sit up in the gallery and watch what was happening. But then again, she wouldn't be able to handle physically seeing Emily's heart stop beating. No. That would destroy her. Instead she waited for the two very worried parents to arrive, and thought about Emily. But one major thing came to mind that wasn't about Emily. It wasn't entirely about herself, but it applied to Alison, she finally understood exactly what it meant. 

"Okay Mrs. Jennings, Dr. Nelson will be taking you up to surgery in a few minutes here, do you have any last minute questions?"

"If you feel like you and Dr. Nelson can't continue, I want you to."

Alison and her superior, attending Dr. Nelson, we're going to be removing some METS on a few of Mrs. Jennings organs. She had been receiving chemotherapy treatment for a while now, but this surgery was her last option to treat her cancer.

"Mrs. Jennings-"

"Dr. Dilaurentis, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Girlfriend, actually." Alison's patient smiled at her. Alison usually had a good reaction from her patients when she told them she dated women.

"I know how much pain I'm in, but I can see how much this hurts Devon more. Imagine if you were sick, imagine what your girlfriend would feel. Imagine how she would feel having to see you suffer and be in pain all the time. I want you to fix me, I want you to try and fix me no matter what, because as much as this illness is killing me, it's killing Devon more."

Fuck, Alison thought. She knew exactly what Devon was feeling now. She was in pain. Emily was in pain. But there was nothing that they could do. Nothing that they could change. It was all out of their hands. The only thing they could do is spend time with one another, because that made all the pain they had, go away.

Alison anxiously sat, waiting. She needed their parents. She needed Spencer to come out and tell them it was all going to work out okay. She needed Emily. The fact that the brunette was still breathing before they were separated was a good sign. But being a surgeon, she knew anything could happen. People die on the table out of nowhere. Sometimes they're too late. Ali wished she wasn't a surgeon at the moment. She wished she was just a regular citizen like everyone else, who had no idea what happened behind the curtain. 

All she could think of now was that they better not have been too late.


	23. Chapter 23

Have you ever felt like you're in the middle of a black hole? Like you're completely stuck, in a trance, within your own thoughts? You feel like time is slipping through your fingers, you feel paralyzed. The crippling feeling of uselessness dawns upon you. It holds you as a prisoner in your own mind. 

That's exactly how Alison felt. It was hell waiting for news and for the two girl's' parents to show up for Emily and Alison's company. It was almost worse when they actually showed up though. The look on Pam's face nearly shattered her into a trillion pieces instead of the million pieces she was already in. It killed her to see Pam's face. Her eyes were puffy, her cheeks still stained with tear tracks. She saw the glimmer of tears in Wayne's eyes. Emily was so much like her father. Emily was "stone hearted" in a way just like her father was. The only time Emily really ever got emotional was when she felt like she was royally fucking things up, or extremely overwhelmed. 

At first, Pam was honestly relieved that Emily was so much like Wayne. Once believed to be impossible, she was surprised to know there was a better, more kind hearted person than Wayne. And it was Emily. Wayne was a great man, by every measure. But he was a firm believer in treating others how they treat you, or deserve to be treated. He wasn't mean, no, not by any means. But he wasn't giving, or patient, with those who didn't deserve his kindness. 

Emily on the other hand, went above and beyond for everyone. Even when some of her classmates picked on her and teased her, she still looked out for them. Emily had always insisted that she'd never been bullied, but Pam knew better. Wayne knew better. Emily just never classified it as bullying, because she didn't know what it was like to be treated normally by her peers. Yet, Emily still held doors for them, was very friendly, and even helped a couple of them with their studies. 

Pam missed having a young, and growing, Emily in her home. She missed her spunky, and at most times, quiet kid. She missed that innocence. She missed Emily rushing in the house, from building her tree fort in the woods across the street, complaining that she was starving. The kid ate as fast as Pam could cook. She missed tucking Emily in bed, saying prayers together, kissing her forehead before she left the brunette's room. She missed driving her to school, singing whatever song came on the radio together. She missed having that Emily in her life, but she couldn't bear to lose that forever. 

Jessica's eyes were puffy too, for two big reasons. Alison finally found someone she deeply cared for, and someone who cared for Ali even more. She hated to see Ali so crushed, so devastated. But it also hurt her to see this happen to Emily. To see someone so selfless take on a task this big, for the second time, hurt. It hurt badly. God really wasn't fair. Because if he was, then this would've never happened to someone so amazing as Emily in the first place.

The sound of her pager rose her from her sleep. She had the day off tomorrow, but unfortunately that meant that she was on call tonight. She groaned, and slipped out of bed. Toby had rolled over and mumbled a "see you later" before she had even managed to look at her pager. She saw in bold letters:

'OR 2. E. FIELDS. RESPIRATORY' 

"Toby." Spencer gasped, her heart now hammering in her own chest. "Toby, it's Emily." 

Both Toby and Spencer sporadically started freaking out. While Spencer got ready, Toby grabbed the report that was faxed to their house for her to read while she got dressed. Spencer wasn't even really sure how she managed to get to the hospital, let alone the operating room, but none-the-less, she did. 

Thank god they already had the brunette under anesthesia, otherwise Emily probably would've made her promise to take care of Ali, or something dramatic that Spencer wouldn't be able to handle before she cut Emily open. She worked like a machine, but she couldn't believe she just cracked open Emily's chest. She had the honor of working with the chief, but that also meant it was a high risk case. 

They worked on her lungs simultaneously, the chief finishing removing the two small tumors first, so then he helped Spencer with her designated lung. At this point, Spencer was just gently combing over her lung. 

"That doesn't look too good." The chief commented. No, of course it fucking didn't. Thanks captain obvious. Spencer was able to remove a few tumors, but the remaining once harboring Emily's lung were impossible to remove at the moment. They didn't have clear margins, and if they got any worse, the lung would need to be removed. 

"Yeah." Spencer glumly answered, figuring she needed to talk to Emily's oncologist. "She needs treatment, both radiation and chemo, daily. Otherwise this lung needs to come out." 

"Spencer, don't you think-" she knew exactly what Dr. Nelson was going to say. But she knew Emily. She knew the life Emily lived. 

"No, it wouldn't be better for this patient." She huffed, handing her tools back the the surgical nurse and preparing to close. "For my patient." 

"Let's get her warmed and ready to take off bypass." Spencer ordered with authority. 

There seemed to be no more problems, but almost as if on cue, the monitors started beeping frantically. Spencer panicked. God this could not be happening. "Get the paddles ready!" Spencer shouted. This should not be happening. She stuck her hand back into Emily's chest cavity and started massaging her heart with her own hand. "Emily, come on." 

"Dr. Hastings." 

"Charge to ten." Dr. Nelson ordered, watching Spencer rhythmically pump Emily's heart. 

Spencer grabbed the paddles from the surgical nurse once she heard her call out that it was ready to go. Spencer cupped Emily's heart with the paddles, "clear." The paddles sent a shock to Emily's heart. 

"Come on Emily, don't you dare die on me." There was no change. "Charge again." Spencer heard the machine charging up. "Don't do this to Ali. C'mon Emily, fight back." She couldn't imagine having to tell Ali, Ali's parents, and Emily's parents if the brunette had passed away; under her care. In her operating room. "Clear." 

The room was silent for a moment, before a faint beep came. Soon the beeps became louder and at a steady pace. Spencer handed the paddles back to the surgical nurse before she stepped away from the table and turned her back on everyone. She felt like she was about to hurl. 

"Dr. Hastings?" Silence. "Dr. Hastings?" One of the first year residents in her department voiced. "Are you alright?" 

"I just touched my best friend's, girlfriend's heart. Just give me a fucking moment." She thanked god, and Emily, for fighting against death. Spencer would never recover from that. "Better yet, get the hell out of my OR Daniels."

It seemed like an eternity passed before Spencer finally came out and into the waiting room to talk to the five people who were anxiously waiting for her to appear. Spencer walked them to Emily's new room, explaining the whole situation to them all. On one hand, they were able to successfully remove the two tiny tumors from Emily's right lung along with three of the tumors on her left. But on the other hand, a couple of her tumors had burst in her left lung. She had some fluid in her lung from the tumors bursting, so they were going to drain it and monitor her lung functions.

"She gave us a good scare, but she pulled through. She's still asleep, but we're going to start easing her off the anesthesia pretty soon." Spencer looked over at her blonde friend and smiled at her. Alison had let Emily parents in to see her first. She knew they needed to see their daughter first. The DiLaurentis clan sat in the ICU waiting room. Ken was holding onto Alison's hand, while Alison leaned her head on her mother's chest, stroking her hair. 

"We're going to go home." Wayne announced, gripping onto his wife's hand firmly after they had checked in on Emily and made it back out to the waiting trio. "I'm sure you're the only person she wants by her side right now anyway. We'll come visit tomorrow." Alison's parents went home too, only if Ali promised to update them on how Emily was doing, since they weren't allowed to go in to see her anyway. 

Alison walked into the room, instantly taking her eyes over the brunette to asses her state. She had a couple intravenous lines connected through her arm and hand. She knew that there would be a chest tube to help keep her lung inflated, and hopefully repair the holes. Her eyes lingered over the ventilator, something she's seen on so many times, but had never hit her as hard until now. 

Those two blue tubes held so much power. Two fucking blue tubes, we holding Emily together right now. She sat for hours. She watched Emily twitch, her body slowly waking her up. The room was silent. The nurse, who was parked in Emily's room until the next shift started, had remained quiet herself. At first she tried talking to Alison, but once she saw that Ali didn't want to talk, she remained quiet. 

The silence was probably worse than talking, honestly. Because the only sound you could hear was the ventilator. She could barely even get herself to hold Emily's hand. She knew it wouldn't harm her, no, that wasn't the problem. They were cold. It was as if that hand was foreign to Emily's body. It seemed as if it didn't fit. To take her mind off of something that made Alison cry for the past half hour, just by thinking about it she had to think of something else. 

She checked over Emily once again. This time, catching every single detail of Emily's current condition. She noticed the SCD "socks" on Emily's calves. It was a sequential compression device that pumped blood through Emily's legs, one after the other, to mimic walking. The little machine was used to prevent DVT's or otherwise known for, deep vein thrombosis. The machine felt like it was giving your calves a massage. She knew that Emily was going to like the machine, whereas some people found it annoying. 

She quickly noticed the chest tube as the nurse in the room checked it, seeing that it had a minimal amount of blood trickling down the tube. Her eyes passed over the catheter tube, full well knowing that Emily was going to hate that. It was a damn good thing she was already out when they put it in, otherwise, shit was going to get ugly. Really fast. She knew Emily would fuss over the nurses taking a peak at her catheter, just to make sure it was still okay. And she knew that taking the catheter out, would not be fun for any nurse.

It wasn't until nearly five hours later until Emily woke up. Ali had left the room, seeing as it was breakfast time. She had quickly gone to the nearest convince store, purchasing herself a large coffee and some breakfast. She ate her food on the go, knowing that she wouldn't be able to take it into the ICU. As soon as she walked back into the room, she was met with sleepy, brown eyes. "Ali." Emily smiled happily, her voice practically a sigh, but still raspy as ever. 

"Hey Em." Alison's voice cracked and to no surprise tear escaped her eyes, she was so happy to see Emily okay. She flipped open the metal foldable chair next to Emily's bed and reached for her hand. 

"I'm just going to check over her vitals, and then I'll give you two some space for a bit." The nurse had already taken her stethoscope out, listening for anything wrong with Emily's heart or lungs. Once she had left, Emily looked straight towards her, smiling extremely lazily. Ali could see just how groggy Emily still was. 

"Are you ready to go home yet?" Emily asked, her head towards Alison, but her eyes closed. "The kids are with your parents so we could have the night to ourselves." 

Alison was taken aback, surprised at what Emily was even talking about. She knew that Emily had her chemo dosage early this morning, and she was sure that Emily was on some type of pain medicine as well. She's seen first hand from her own patients who aren't in their right mind, that not going along with their little world, can turn disastrous, even violent at times. But she would have never imagined that Emily would be dreaming, literally, about their future. 

"Did you really forget?" Emily sighed, her eyes flickering open, her eyes instantly filled with sadness. Alison hated to see how much emotion Emily's eyes held, especially when she caused it. "We've been married for nine years baby." 

"No, no I didn't forget, I just had a surprise for you." Alison took both of Emily's hands in her own, being careful of the intravenous lines in her hand. 

Emily looked down at their hands with a smile, grateful that her wife didn't forget their anniversary. "Where are your rings?" Emily kept turning her hand over, as if she were a child who witnessed a magic trick, expecting the rings to be in the palm of the blonde's hand. Then she noticed her own were missing, "I lost my rings!" 

Emily started to panic, trying her best to sit up in the bed as she tried to find the rings underneath her. "Hey," Ali grabbed her arm softly. Hearing the monitor pick up, and knowing how much rest Emily needed, it worried her to have Emily jostling around. "We sent them to the jeweler to get them cleaned." 

Emily visibly relaxed, as did the monitor. Alison pushed Emily's shoulders, gently, back down on the bed. "You need to rest babe, you just had your chest cracked open." 

"Why?" Emily questioned for real. But Alison didn't have the chance to tell Emily the real reason. "You wanted to see how much I love you?" 

Ali smiled, loving how cute and loving that Emily was. "Or did you just want to show all of your work friends how much of my heart belongs to you?" 

"All right Romeo, you've already won me over. No need to do it again." Ali laughed, but Emily wore a serious expression in her face. 

"No." Emily scratched the top of her head, her eyes darting between Alison's beautiful blues. "Dad said to treat her like you're still trying to win her over." She looked completely serious, but the grogginess that was clearly evident within the girl made her undoubtedly adorable. 

"I'm tired Ali." Emily whined, her eyes already closing again. 

"Got to sleep." Ali chuckled, running her fingers along each knuckle of the brunette's hand. "I'll be right here when you wake up."

"But we need to go home. I can't sleep at your work." Emily protested. 

"We're already at home." Alison smiled warmly, hoping that Emily bought it. "Now give me a kiss, and get your stubborn ass to sleep." 

Spencer made the trek home. She made sure the nurse taking care of Emily was going to be very articulate. She wanted Emily to be checked, every half hour, not every hour. 

As soon as she got home, she slipped back into bed with Toby, who was still awake and waiting for her. "How is she?" Toby asked immediately. The whole while she was gone, his hands were sweating due to the nervousness that radiated within him. 

Spencer sighed, rubbing her hand on her forehead. "Okay for now." Toby wrapped his arms around her, hoping to ease her mind. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

Spencer shook her head, not being able to coherently talk about it due to the tears spilling down her cheeks and the major frog in her throat. "Just hold me." She was able to whisper, enough of the words being heard by Toby to get the hint, to hold her even tighter. 

They let silence take over the room. Spencer's emotions lowering, while Toby's mind wandered in so many different directions. "Do you think her heart is okay?" Toby asked, running his fingers up and down Spencer's arm. 

Spencer had to clear her throat, "yeah, I think so." Spencer turned out of his hold, looking into his very worried eyes. "Chemo puts a lot of stress on your body. Bad lungs put a lot of stress on your body. Being cut open, getting your chest cracked, it's a lot for your body to endure." 

"Honestly," Spencer sighed again, finding Toby's hand so she could hold onto it "I'm surprised it only took two shocks to get her back." 

"Why? It was just a secondary reaction, there was no cause behind it, right?" Toby had to ask again. His mind hadn't been able to turn off since Spencer left early in the night. He wanted to go to the hospital, just to be there, but he figured that the two families needed their space. He figured Spencer and himself would head back to the hospital to visit later, when the sun was actually up, since they were supposed to spend the evening with Emily and Alison anyway. 

"Yeah, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen it go the opposite way." It was the one terrible job of Spencer's. She'd seen beautiful, healthy tissue and muscle that of the heart, completely arrest with no real cause behind it. 

"What about her lung? What if you need to take it out, then what?" 

Spencer sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time tonight. But this time, it was more remorseful. She didn't want to have to revert to their final option. "Then she gets a lung transplant." Toby nodded his head, a face of acceptance, but not one of complete satisfaction. "She probably wouldn't be able to be a cop again. She'd be on anti-rejection medication, and damage her kidney. She'd need a kidney transplant in about five years. Honestly, most die waiting for a new kidney. So, I really don't want to go down that road." 

"Me either." Toby said, his voice strangled. He didn't want to think about a life without his best friend. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea...but I think we should push back our wedding." Toby waited for Spencer's response, hoping that his fiancé wouldn't be irate with him. 

"I agree." Spencer leaned in and captured Toby's lips for a gentle kiss. "Things are going to get really tough for her." Spencer could feel a tear slip down her cheek, even though she was trying to hold it in. Ever since she got home, all she wanted to do was cry, and she was finally letting it all out. Emily almost fucking died. She touched Emily's heart. She had to shock Emily's heart. "I want her to be there for you. For us. And we need to be there for her, right now." 

Toby hummed, not trusting his own voice. His eyes burned with the tears he himself were now holding back. "Her auction thingy is this weekend, right?"

"Yes babe." Spencer chuckled, she had told Toby about a hundred times when it was. He even told him to get ready to clear some of his police awards off the mantle and off the wall in their room, for some of Emily's paintings.

Being in the professions that they were all in, Alison, Toby, and Spencer never had an abundance of chances to dress up. The charity event for Emily provided them with one of those scarce chances. It was odd for them to all be celebrating without the honoree there. They had wished that Emily would be able to be there, but since she just had her chest cracked open three days ago, along with very intense treatments, it was better for her to stay in bed. 

It was a fantastic turnout. There were people from all over, so surely, this would help Emily out a lot. Along with Toby's Christmas present to the ailing brunette. He had managed to convince all teams in their league to donate all the money to Emily, instead of a charity this year. 

Hundreds of people, looking prestigious as ever, flocked into the rented out building for Emily's benefit. There were baskets to win, games to play, dancing, and of course the final event of the night, the auctioning of Emily's paintings.

"Hey Ali." Toby walked up to the blonde, who was wearing a sparkly red dress. 

"Hey, thanks for coming." Ali wrapped her arms around the taller man. She really had come to love having Toby around. He opened Emily up, in a way. To everyone else, it probably seemed like she was still the same. Afraid of people and the possible ramifications that came with their awkward conversations. 

But to Toby, Spencer, and Alison, they saw the first hand effects. Toby would come home, ecstatic, recounting stories Emily had told him. Alison had seen Emily become less anxious and more friendly with Spencer and Toby. Herself as well. It had taken Emily over a year, but her old habits were practically kicked. Sure, she still got nervous, or awkward at times. For instance, not all that long ago Ali introduced Emily to another one of her work friends, and Emily completely froze and stuttered, "I like snow" and she really didn't even like snow. When her friend, Samantha, ask what Emily did for a living. 

"We'd never miss it." Toby responded, letting his eyes wander for Spencer. "I can't wait to finally get my hands on a piece of hers. By the way, how is she doing?" 

Toby hadn't had the chance to visit Emily since the morning after her surgery. He had some minor work for her to do, but given the circumstances, he took on the work to keep Emily from exerting himself. No, instead he decided it was better to let her paint and recovery. 

"Okay," Alison shifted on her feet, taking a drink from her cup. It had been an eternity since she was able to let loose, not that it was a bad thing by any means, but she needed to in a sense. "She's been tired, but she did joke about Spencer seeing her half naked, so there's still a bit of Emily left in her."

Toby hadn't missed the look in Alison's eyes. Truth be told, Emily was out of it so often lately. Her brain was so manipulated by the chemo, that it was easy to see why she had "chemo brain" so often. Mix that with Emily's lack of emotions and energy, it was terrifying for Alison. She felt like she was watching Emily drift away, as if a stray log being sucked into the depths of the deepest ocean. 

Even though she knew it was best for Emily in the long run, she would be lying if she said she was okay herself. Anyone that knew her, would know that this would eat her alive. She'd cry, sitting right next to Emily as the brunette completely forgot who she was, for the tenth time that week. But even as a stranger, Emily tried, though very awkwardly, comforting the blonde. That spoke to Alison in so many ways. Seeing Emily so high spirited this morning, had made the week worth all the trauma. 

Just before they started auctioning off Emily's paintings, she received a text from the very woman they were here to support tonight. Emily had sent a picture of her plaid, red and black, pajama pants, along with the caption:

'Matching with my beautiful angel. I love you dearly baby, wish I could be with you'

Alison smiled. God, was Emily a treasure. She felt a weight lift off of her shoulders, now a warming feeling replacing the burden of the weight. She felt better, leaving Emily for the night instead of sitting with her until she fell asleep, that she seemed okay. 

But that's only how she seemed. Really, Emily's head felt like it was about to explode. She was vomiting almost every ten minutes, the medicine to reduce the nausea wasn't really helpin. The vomiting was putting even more stress on her body, tiring her out all that much more. Thank god she was finally back in her old, luxurious room. But that didn't stop Sandra from checking in on her every hour, and really, she was checking in almost every half hour. Emily was tired. Exhausted. Her body ached. She had sent her parents off to the big event of the night before her next chemo dosage started.

"Emily," Sandra peeked her head around the drawn curtain, witnessing Emily just lose the rest of the dinner she ate only an hour ago "I need you to drink this okay?" She set a mini Gatorade on the little table by Emily's side, making sure she grabbed Emily's favorite kind; grape. 

"No." Emily used her arm to swipe across the table, knocking the Gatorade to the floor. "Leave me alone." She croaked. She felt, well, like shit. She just wanted to get some rest, but apparently, that was a lot to ask. 

"Em, come on." Sandra bent down to pick up the Gatorade to place it back on the table. "I know it's hard. I know it hurts, honey, I do. But I need you to drink this." Emily needed the electrolytes back in her system and she definitely needed something to cure her dehydration. Sandra knew how stubborn Emily was, granted it was only when she was extremely out of it or in pain, so she knew it was a lost cause to get Emily to drink both a Gatorade, and a water. 

Alison finally made it home, the time nearing one o'clock. She kicked her heels off, and fell back into the mattress. Today was an amazing day, to say the least. Emily was feeling better, she had a great night, and they raised a shit ton of money for Emily. It was a crazy event, to say the least. In a good way. Alison got chills all over again, thinking about all the support for her girlfriend, even though half the party goers had no clue who she was, they still heavily participated. 

They wanted the cheap booze and to say that they were a part of the night, which still needed up benefiting Emily either way. Because half of those people who had no idea who she was, got sucked into buying raffle tickets for a basket, or dropped a bid on a painting. That only helped in the long run. 

One of her painting sold for thirty-five hundred dollars. Which was literally insane. The highest bidding item of the night, was a close replica of Jessica's Christmas present last year, the northern lights. Where Jessica's painting had the northern lights dancing above a cliff, with nothing but dark trees below, being illuminated by the light green and sea-foamy blue that shined some light in the midst of darkness. The one that was auctioned off was over a giant bridge, the lights reflecting back up to the sky through the water. None of them sold for under five hundred bucks, and Emily had provided fourteen paintings for Kenneth to auction off.

Alison wanted to call Sandra, and ask how Emily was doing. Well, did today, since the girl would definitely be sleeping now. Emily had allowed Sandra, or any nurse for that matter, give Alison, her own parents, or Alison's parents about her condition so that they weren't breaking HIPPA violation. But she decided against her urge. She would see Emily straightaway in the morning. It was best to let Sandra get some rest, and let the night cool down, because Ali knew how hectic a nurse's day could be. 

Meanwhile Pam, Wayne, Jessica, and Kenneth were still at the parties' location picking up decorations and game pieces. "I-we have thanked you so much." Pam's voice wavered, she slipped her hands into her dress pockets, trying to gauge exactly what to say. "This, you guys, Alison; mean so much to Emily. It all means so much to us. " 

"She means a great deal to us as well, she's a special kid." Kenneth replied, setting a box full of poker essentials on the nearest table, joining in on the conversation. "I mean that, I really do." 

"Usually I have to beg Ken to act nice around anyone Ali has dated." Jessica gave him a knowing look. It was especially hard for Kenneth to pretend to like tattoo girl. Honestly, it wasn't even the tattoos that bothered him, it was the way she spoke. She was so...not intelligent. And it was obvious she was only with Ali because of her future job, and her parents established business repertoire. "I didn't even have to say a word to Ken with her. She respected him. She respected me. She respected Ali. She respected Jason, even though she had no reason too, being a cop and all. And I think those are the type of people a parent only dreams that their child will fall in love with." 

Pam was beaming. But even more so was Wayne. He knew this would eventually come along for Emily. He knew it, he could feel it. He was just so damn proud of his little girl, for being the way she was. For being exactly who she was. "Emily is lucky to have her. She's lucky to have you both as well." Wayne smiled at all three people standing in front of him. 

"We are so grateful, for everything you have done for Emily." Pam added, tearing up a bit. 

"It wasn't just for Emily." Ken started. He got a smack in the chest from his wife, and a harsh scold, but he knew what he was doing. "It was for Ali. It was for you as well. It was us. It was for her new friends. It was for the neighbors. It was for the task force. It was for the community." His words choked them all up, including himself. There was not a dry eye in their little square. "She makes Rosewood a better place, she is a light for this town. I wouldn't feel even remotely okay with doing nothing. She deserves it."

Alison had waked into work, a little earlier than normal. She planned on catching Sandra before she went home for the day at seven thirty, hoping to get details about what she missed yesterday. "Sandra." Ali walked up to the desk, noticing her writing something in a patient's chart. 

"Hey Ali," she looked up and down quickly as she continued writing "you're here early today." 

"Oh yeah, I was hoping to catch you actually." Ali smiled, even though Sandra hadn't been able to see since she didn't look up from her chart again. "I was just wondering how Em was last night after I left." Emily had cleared it with the hospital staff, allowing Alison to ask for her medical information so they didn't break any HIPPA rules. 

"Oh." She closed the blue folder and put it in the designated spot, finally giving her full attention to Alison. Ali saw the bags under her eyes, she saw the empty coffee cups on her desk and in the trash, definitely signaling it had been a long and rough night. "It was-"

"Not good." Ali finished, sensing Sandra's hesitation. 

"No, not really." She confirmed with a shrug and peered down to the hallway that lead to Emily's room. "She was throwing up half the night." Ali winced, feeling insanely guilty for not being here when Emily needed her most. "Then she started yelling at me for annoying her so much, and later yelled at me again because she thought I was trying to replace you or something." 

"Oh god," Alison gasped, her guilt now burning a hole through her "I'm sorry. I should've been here." 

"No." Sandra chuckled, she had dealt with it all before. "She didn't even know who I was, so it's fine." Ali shot her a look, as if saying "you're a fucking liar, I really don't believe that you wouldn't be hurt that your favorite patient lashed out at you."

"Really." She nodded back at Ali, sensing her uneasy ness. "I stayed with her for so many nights the first time. She yelled all the time, because she wanted to be left alone, and I wouldn't leave her." She shrugged, thinking back to one of the first nights she had stayed in Emily's room throughout the entirety of the evening. 

"She's the toughest kid I have ever seen." She commented, bringing a weak smile to appear on Alison's face. "She fought cancer, basically, alone." Alison knew exactly what Sandra meant. Nurses always ask what kind of support system you have in place whenever something serious happens, like cancer or a major surgery. In the beginning, she had the best support system in place, but in the end, it fizzled out under the circumstances. 

It wasn't her parents fault, by any means. But it's hard to imagine, a fifteen year old kid having the backbone to beat cancer in her own. "I see her now, and I see an even tougher person than I did before. She rates an eight pain a two. I don't care if it feels like I'm pulling teeth with her." Alison stood, just taking in every single word Sandra said. Hanging onto it like it meant everything in the world to her; because it really did. Emily did. "In the end, it's worth it. I want to see her move on, from this, in her life." 

"In the time she's been back, she's told me seven times that she is going to marry you." Alison felt a tear threatening to race down her cheek like a cheetah. "I believe her. I would do anything for her, because I promised her the first time that I would get her through this. You know I keep my word, don't you Dr. DiLaurentis?" 

Ali could feel the lump in her throat, not even bothering to clear it before she spoke, "I do."

"You know, aside from yelling at me..all she's told me is how you two are going to be together forever." Sandra smiled, genuinely happy for both Alison and Emily. "You both deserve that." Sandra stood, pushing in her chair, and leaving Alison to simmer with her words. 

How could she love someone so much? How could that person love her that much more? They were damn lucky they found each other, because they were made for one another.


	24. Chapter 24

Things had only gone down hill, and it rolled down quickly. It happened like the stages of an avalanche. All it took was one little flake of snow to start a dangerous rumble down the mountain. 

Emily was weak; extremely weak. She had to be put back on a ventilator, because her lungs weren't filling to a high enough capacity. She was given a whiteboard to write on to interact with others, but her hands and arms were so weak. Her once scribbly, yet still somehow bubbly writing, was now looking like a four year olds. The feeding tube was back. Her eyes had lost light. Her skin had lost its glow. Her mind was out of it so often. Toby, Spencer, Alison, Alison's parents...they'd all come and visit, and Emily would write 'who are you?' 

It was truly heartbreaking. Pam took work off to stay longer. The DiLaurentis' has been kind enough to allow the Fields duo to stay in one of their many guest rooms. Had her parents not offered, Alison would've insisted that Emily's parents stayed with her.

Ali had only been sitting with Emily for only about twenty minutes, while the brunette got a little rest. Her own parents had visited, as well as Pam and Wayne obviously, but they had left just before dinner time. Emily stirred and eventually flickered her eyes open. She could feel Alison's warmth hitting every ounce of her soul. The source came from their connected hands, but the warmth that was Alison, shot through her like a drug. 

She reached for the marker and whiteboard sitting on her lap, breaking their hand contact. It took her a while to write the desired words, but she still had that determined look she always had when she was painting. She had stopped painting, the task becoming too difficult due to her shakiness. The last painting she completed was the one Alison dearly loved, to which, Emily was going to surprise her with it as a present. Alison waited patiently, watching as Emily scribbled on the white board. 

'You don't have to sit here Ali. It's pretty boring.'

"Are you crazy?" Alison forced herself to smile. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Alison pulled Emily's hand toward her mouth so she could place a kiss on top of it. Two lone tears threatened to fall once again. She couldn't voice to Emily what she was really thinking. She didn't think she could even say the words out loud. 

She was going to spend every possible second she could with Emily. Because she was terrified that each moment with Emily were going to be her last. It would be their last moment together. She'd never get to hear her voice again. She'd never hear her laugh again. She'd witnessed her last smile. They would never experience those awkward moments and giggle about them later. She wouldn't have Emily's warm arms to comfort her. Her safety blanket ripped away from her, without warning. 

Alison was so lost within herself, she didn't notice Emily writing again. 

'Tell me a funny story' 

Emily could see the hurt in Alison's eyes, so she did the best she could to change her mood. She would give anything to be able to wrap her arms around the blonde while they sat on the couch. One of Alison's favorite movies would be playing in the background such as, The Longest Ride. Alison's head would lie right above her heart. Everything would be normal, everything would be fantastic actually. 

"Ah." Alison said, clearing her throat after she had come up with an idea. "So I know you wanted a fish at some point, but you know that I had a fish before I met you. I named this chubby little guy King. Yeah, he was the King of food." 

The name of the fish got Emily's lips to turn upwards by the smallest fraction. If she hadn't known Emily so well, she wouldn't have known that she even tried to smile. But Emily's eyes had their own smile as well, which was a dead giveaway. And if it weren't for that, she would've known due to the brunette's squeeze of her hand.

So she continued with her embarrassing story of her fish. How she cried over that little chubby fish for over for a week when it passed. Which didn't surprise either girl the least bit. Alison was an emotional girl, and that was okay. She'd told her funny story after funny story. She was laughing so hard, and giggling retelling Emily how Jason had cake thrown in his face after some girl dumped him. 

It was almost as if things were normal. It was like they were back home and Emily had said something that Ali couldn't stop laughing about. But that wasn't the case. The reality was far from it. Emily couldn't say anything, she couldn't laugh along with Alison. It was tough, and once that reality hit Alison in the face like a brick, her laughter died on the spot. Well, at least she had forty minutes of their old life back, and it was heaven. 

Toby had stopped by very briefly the following day. He wanted to check in on her and let her know about their new wedding plans. "Hey Em." His eyes immediately found a half finished piece of art and quickly averting his eyes away from it. He didn't want to think that Emily may never get to finish it. "I um, Spence and I were talking and we're going to move the wedding back."

Emily shook her head the tiniest bit, he wasn't even sure if Emily knew who he was. For all he knew, she thought he was a nurse there to administer some medications. Toby chuckled, shaking his head as he looked at the brunette laying in front of him. "Yes Em. We want you there as a healthy part of the day. We'll push it to next August, and if you're not ready then, well then it'll be pushed back another year. You're important to us Em, you're important to our big day." Obviously both Toby and Spencer had already told Alison, along with the rest of the people involved in their big day. So at the end of the day, Emily would know either way. 

Which she didn't know it was Toby. She was barely aware that someone was in the room with her. She was so tired, all she wanted was some sleep. Sandra tried to make Emily comfortable, finding a station that had a rerun of a football game. Toby had sat and watched the game with Emily, only the announcers voices filling the room. Toby had left not much later, leaving when the brunette's parents came back from dinner. Today was a hard day for Emily, and having strangers such as Toby and Sandra didn't help her case, in fact it was just stressing the brunette out. Emily had remembered her parents, but hadn't remembered her dad being paralyzed, so that was an emotional conversation every time it came back up. 

Sandra was just walking towards Emily's room with two blankets in hand when Alison, too, was about to go see her girlfriend. 

"Hey Ali." Sandra sighed, noticing the look that was already on Alison's face. It was as if she knew Emily was in a bad state. Which was likely, because Alison did know how these things went. That scared Alison the most. If she hadn't known what happened in medical procedures, or stages of people on a ventilator, then she probably would have more faith. She'd actually sleep at night. 

The one thing that eased her mind the slightest bit, was how tough Emily was. It seemed like it didn't matter what the odds were. Alison had faith that Emily was tough enough to do this. That Emily was tough enough to fight against the waves that kept crashing against her. 

"Hey, how has she been?"

"Cold," she held the blankets a little higher "a little restless. She doesn't want her dosages. I guess it doesn't help that she hasn't slept very good today, but, hopefully tomorrow is better."

Without another word, the pair entered Emily's room, Alison noticing Pam and Wayne hovering over Emily like they were getting ready to leave. "Here we go Em." Sandra walked around both of Emily's parents to the opposite side of the bed to put the warming blankets on the shivering brunette. 

Alison had stepped to the foot of the bed, so Emily could see her. A light had flickered in Emily's eyes. One she hadn't seen in so long, that little light she had been yearning to see for so, so long. Emily had patted the small space beside her on the bed. "Oh Em, I-I shouldn't." 

Sandra noticed the sour look on Emily's face when Alison had shot her down. "You've got a lot of wires and tubes Emily." Sandra had put her hand on Emily's shoulder and sympathetically rubbed her thumb on Emily's shoulder. "We just want to be careful, okay?" 

Emily had pouted, using those beautiful puppy eyes to perfection. Shakily, she held up her hand, her fingers spread, communicating with Sandra a five. "Ugh, damnit Fields. Fifteen minutes." Sandra smiled heavily, shaking her head. She really was a sucker for puppy eyes and she really never could say no to Emily. "Let me get you situated on your side first." 

Alison and Emily's parents smiled, they too were often victims of the puppy eyes. It was tough to ever deny Emily anything regardless of whether or not she gave those puppy eyes, which was always unintentional on her part. She would do anything for anyone, and that made it difficult to turn any of her simple requests down.

It took almost ten minutes to get Emily situated, but the longtime nurse wanted to be extremely careful. She made sure everything was okay when Ali slipped into the bed with Emily. With a nod to Emily's parents and a faint smile, Sandra slipped out of the room, leaving the family to be in their own little bubble. Pam and Wayne watched Emily and Alison lying face to face. They watched Emily's hands trace over every inch of Alison's face, while the blonde cheekily smiled. 

"Honey," Pam grabbed Emily's hand from the blonde's cheek, taking the brunette's attention away from Alison "we're going to head home. You should get some rest." Pam nodded at Alison, who then shifted so her back was to the brunette so Emily could fall asleep like they always did at home. 

Pam felt the lightest squeeze on her fingers and then felt Emily's hand slip from her own. She was pointing to the white board that resided on her bedside table. Pam held the board for her while her hands shook, she slowly scribbled on the board. Emily gripped the board and put it in view of Alison's vision. 

Pam smiled, capturing a picture of the two with the board showing Emily's scribbled words 'I love you' before she wheeled Wayne out of the room. Pam felt tears stinging in her eyes, Wayne smiled widely for the first time in months. They were both so proud, and admittedly the moment was adorable, of Emily. 

"What? What's the matter?" Jessica started freaking out as soon as Pam and Wayne got home. Wayne had started crying on the ride home. They had voiced how proud of Emily they were, how much she had changed in such a positive way.

"Nothing." Pam replied, wiping at her eyes and smiling at both of Alison's parents. "Our kids are adorable." Pam pulled out her phone to show both Ken and Jess exactly what she was talking about. She had sent an attachment of the picture to both Jessica and Alison, so they could enjoy the site at any moment. 

"Aww, gosh, they're so cute." Jessica exclaimed taking off the reading glasses she had to put on in order for her to see the picture. "They're meant to be."

The four of them settled into the living room, nursing glasses of wine and bottles of beer. The fire roared within the confinements of the prestigious fireplace that was in their living room. A soft, instrumental piece of music quietly played in the background, each adult left to their own thoughts. 

"I'm proud of Alison." Wayne spoke, his voice breaking the comfortable silence. His eyes were focused on the carpet, rather than the girl's parents he was talking to. All three adults had waited for Wayne to elaborate, because they really had no idea how to build a conversation off of his statement. "She," he sighed, setting his beer on the side table, rubbing his palms along his jean clad thighs. "She could have reacted differently to Emily. She's working an intense job, while she manages to go visit Em every night. She could have walked away from all this." 

"I don't think she'd be able to walk away, I think someone would literally have to drag her away from Emily." 

Wayne looked at Pam, smiling slightly as he nodded his head. They both knew that the pair were inseparable. "I'm-we're really proud of what you've both done as well. I know that we already thanked you for the big fundraiser, but it goes past that. You both have given so much for our family, and there's no real way we can repay you." 

Ken stood, placing his beer on the side table as well. He walked over to the man expressing his gratefulness. "Wayne, you don't have to repay us. We are a family." He held out his hand, immediately being met by Wayne's firm grip, mimicking the action like they had just made a business deal. 

Alison felt more tears hit her like a tsunami. It was an adorable moment. It felt so good to be lying in bed next to Emily. She wanted to cry when she saw Emily's little light in her eyes ignite her entire orbs into a fire as her fingers shakily traced over her face earlier. She felt Emily's hand grip the back of her shirt and gently tug on it. Her heart clenched even more and she carefully shifted closer into the brunette. She felt Emily's arm sling over her torso, and Emily's nose pressed in the top of her hair. 

"I love you so much, Emily." Alison found Emily's hand with her left, interlocking their fingers. Her thumb rubbed along Emily's dainty knuckles. She felt the lightest nuzzle of Emily's nose on the top of her head, smiling to herself, because she couldn't get enough of these moments lately; they were so rare. 

Emily felt so much peace, she felt so much better, having Alison in her arms. They were in the same bed. Alison's warmth had warmed her quicker and deeper than any heating system could. She smiled, feeling better than she has in weeks. "God I love you Em." Ali whispered. Emily would've given anything to be able to talk to her now. "Want me to sing to you, so you can fall asleep?" She waited for an answer, forgetting that Emily couldn't. She did however, feel a squeeze on her hand which she took as a yes. 

"Let me be your hero" 

Emily felt her heart fill with emotions, she could feel tears waiting to push through the flood gate. Ali herself had started crying again. Hero, by Enrique Iglesias, was the song Emily would sing to Alison. Anytime Alison was stressed, crying, or even just upset, Emily's voice, although not very good, had made her day a million times better. It was Emily's song to her, but it seemed fitting for a temporarily role reversal. 

"Would you dance, if I asked you to dance?   
Would you run, and never look back?  
Would you cry, if you saw me crying?  
And would you save my soul, tonight?

Would you tremble, if I touched your lips?  
Would you laugh? Oh please tell me this  
Now would you die, for the one you love?  
Hold me in your arms, tonight"

Alison could barely keep it together. Her favorite part of the song was next. She loved when Emily would sing it to her. She was soft and gentle, but by the second verse, she had turned into a goofy singing style. She would yell the lyrics, purposely going off tune not that she could hit the lyrics perfectly anyway, but that's what she loved about it so much. It was perfectly imperfect; just like Emily. 

"I can be your hero, baby  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away

Would you swear, that you'll always be mine?  
Or would you lie? Would you run and hide?  
Am I in too deep? Have I lost my mind?  
I don't care you're here, tonight

I can be your hero, baby  
I can kiss away the pain  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away

Oh, I just wanna hold you  
I just wanna hold you, oh yeah  
Am I in too deep? Have I lost my mind?  
Well I don't care you're here, tonight

I can be your hero, baby  
I can kiss away the pain, oh yeah  
I will stand by you forever  
You can take my breath away"

By that point Alison was into full on tears, thankfully she had her back turned to Emily, otherwise she would've started to sob uncontrollably. She couldn't sing Emily's song to her and look into those brown doe like eyes. Emily had fallen asleep, finding peace in her sleep for the first time in the longest time. Her sleep came easy and without interruptions. Alison sighed, exploring every inch of Emily's hand she could. She found peace herself in Emily's ability to sleep. 

She didn't even notice that Sandra had come back into the room. She had seen almost the whole thing, she watched from the doorway as Alison lulled Emily to sleep. She felt emotional herself, but she knew both Alison and Emily were hurting. She figured holding it together, at least for the moment, was best for the both of them. 

"Hey." Sandra quietly whispered, walking over to Alison's side so she could face Emily. Alison looked up, noticing who it was, she started to gently take her hand out of Emily's. Before she could get very far, Sandra had stopped her. "It's the first time I've seen her sleep so effortlessly since...I don't know, a long time. Just stay with her for, I don't know," Sandra stole a quick glance at her watch before she continued "a half hour or so? I'll come re-situate her then."

Alison found it extremely hard to pull herself away from the sleeping brunette. She gently kissed her forehead, and whispered goodnight to her. She thanked Sandra, and bid goodnight to her as well. She hadn't even realized she made it home, changed her clothes, and was already in bed. Her mind was so focused on Emily and how normal everything was for just over a half hour. 

It had been a while since Emily had been in their bed, but Alison could smell Emily's shampoo. It was faint, but it was there. The smell was in the core of the brunette's pillow. Alison pulled it close to her, her nose pressed into the heart of the plush pillow. She wanted this all to be over. She needed this all to be over, she needed to have Emily hold her like she did tonight. Because crying alone, every night with out her love, was slowly killing her inside. It was exhausting; Emily truly was her hero. She made every terrible moment melt away and turn into something she wanted to remember.

Around four in the morning, Spencer had woken from her sleep due to her cell phone ringing. Groggily she answered, not bothering to look who it was. 

"Dr. Hastings?" Her eyes widened immediately hearing Sandra's voice on the phone. She couldn't decipher her tone, which admittedly scared the hell out of her. 

"Yeah," Spencer squeaked. She cleared her throat as she carefully got up from the bed, careful not to wake Toby, as she slipped into the hallway. "What's up?" She twirled a loose thread from her shirt around her left index finger, await for Emily's nurse to tell her why she had called. 

Alison heard a loud and incessant banging on her front door. Her eyes hastily opened, glancing at the time. Her stomach turned when she saw the time. She had this unnerving and sick to her stomach feeling as she slipped on her slippers and made her way to the door. It seemed like every step, came with a new, and more intense, wave of this feeling. 

She took a deep breath, her shaky hands reached for the doorknob. Her breathing came to a halt when she saw Spencer in her doorway. She could feel herself to begin to panic. 

"Hey," Spencer wrapped her arms around Alison, gently cradling the shaking blonde's head "Emily has left the choice to you, Ali, I'm sorry that you have to decide this." She didn't even know what she had to decide, but she felt it wasn't going to be an easy decision.

Alison had invited Spencer in. She needed to know what she was deciding on. She wanted to hear all the details before she made a rash decision. She was nervous, extremely nervous. Her hands were sweating and she felt hot. 

"Basically, it comes down to what you want to do." Spencer sighed, her left hand massaging her temples. She had explained just about every element to Ali. Emily's oxygen levels were up. Her strength was up, although she was still weak, she was still able to squeeze Sandra's fingers harder than she had in a while. "I mean it can go either way. It's tough, I'm about thirty-five percent confident I can get all the tumors. It's your call."

"Spence, I don't know." Alison slumped back into the couch, her head tilted towards the ceiling. It was way too early to make a decision like this. "What would you do?" 

"I'd suggest to perform the surgery." 

Alison huffed, she dramatically rubbed at both of her eyes, not liking the answer Spencer gave her. "Why?"

"As her surgeon speaking, this is the window." Spencer didn't exactly know how to tell Alison her next choice of words. Sure, she had said it to hundreds of other significant other's of her patients. But she never though she'd have to say these words to her best friend. "I'm not confident she'll get any better if we wait." 

"You're only thirty-five percent sure. You might not even get all of them, she can't handle another surgery later. She's barely recovered from the first one. Spence, she might not be strong enough to get through the surgery." Alison rambled, feeling herself start to panic. 

"Hey, hey, shhhh." Spencer moved over to Alison and pulled her into her arms. "I suggest it, as her friend, because she wants to be home with you. She'll fight through it so she can be back here, getting back to her normal life. Sandra said a half hour, with you in her arms, could be the sole reason for her slight jump upwards."

Alison nodded agreeing to go ahead with the surgery, she knew Spencer was right. That was her initial decision, but she didn't want to make the wrong choice. She knew Emily was tired of being there, how could she not? She was stuck in an uncomfortable bed for months. "I'm scared Spencer." 

"I know." Spencer felt it too. But, she's worked with less before and made the most of it. She knew she'd have a little time to get her strategy set, along with multiple back up plans, before the surgery started. She had handed two of her surgeries off to a different cardio surgeon, so she could operate early in the morning. "I've got this Ali."

Alison had taken a shower, noticing a text from her boss giving her the day off, she decided a quick shower was the best approach to start her day. She would be clean and she would wake up, her eyes wouldn't be so heavy later on in the day. She made her way over to her parents house, letting both sets of parents know of the plan. 

She was worried what Pam and Wayne would say, or if they would blame Alison if things went wrong. But of course that wasn't the case. Both of Emily's parents trusted her, and her insight. They figured having seen many patients like this, and making multiple decisions like this, she knew what she was doing. 

After making a couple to-go coffees, they all headed to the hospital, to sit with Em before her surgery. The brunette was once again fast asleep, almost like Alison had left her. The three of them decided that they could all have a snippet of time alone with the sleeping girl, before she was wheeled off into pre-op at six-thirty. 

Ali's parent had volunteered to go in first, figuring that neither Alison nor Emily's parent had any clue as to what they were going to say. There was nothing but silence between the blonde and the brunette's parents. All three of them were praying, and trying to figure out what they would even say to Emily. 

Ten long minutes had passed before the older DiLaurentis' had come back to the waiting room. Pam stood, signaling that her and Wayne were to go next. Jessica gave a warm smile to Pam, and took a seat next to Alison. Alison blankly stared at the doors leading into the main ward of the floor. 

Jessica nor Kenneth, had any word of advice for Alison. Both her parents held a hand, rubbing soft circles into her skin. It was intense for Ken and Jess, just being in there, and talking to Emily. Pleading with her, begging her to fight with every ounce that she could muster up. 

"She's awake now, you can head in." She hadn't even realized that Pam and Wayne were out. Alison had zoned out, only Wayne's deep voice brought her back to reality. 

She slowly stood, making her way into Emily's room. She sat down and the moment she looked into Emily's eyes, she started crying. "Babe." She whispered, she hung her head, resting it on top of Emily's hands. Her own hands held onto Emily's trembling hand as her tears dripped onto her skin. She could feel Emily's fingers wrapping around her own, squeezing them as if to say everything was going to be alright. 

"I love you so much." Alison kissed the top of the girl's hand. She knew she wouldn't be able to talk to her if she looked into those broken brown eyes. "Spencer is going to take really good care of you again, okay? You just..you just got to work with her a bit too okay? Don't give up on her." 

The words kept spilling out, as did the tears. Alison didn't really know where she was going with this because she wanted to be selfish, she wanted to make sure Emily stayed here; because she couldn't lose her. But she knew how much pain the brunette was in. God, now she wishes she could take away Emily's pain. She couldn't be mad if Emily didn't have the strength to fight through it. 

"I'll be right here, waiting for you when you're done. Then, we can go home. We can go home to our cozy bed, we can go back to having Sunday dinners with my parents, we can go back to me cheering you on in the stands while you smile and wave up to me from the field. We can start new things...we can have a weekly date night. We can travel once a year. We can start drinking coffee together in the morning, just before the kids wake up. We can make breakfast together, and you'll distract me everyday and we'll probably burn something. We can go play paintball until I kick your ass, because that's the only way you'll stop wanting to go." 

Alison finally pulled her head up and looked into teary eyes. "There's so much more left for us to explore babe." Alison stood, her hand resting on Emily's cheek. She softly rubbed along Emily's jawline, clearing some tears in the process. "I need you, more than I would like to admit. You're my lifeline." 

"I love you Emily Catherine Fields." Alison whispered, closing her eyes and letting the tears jet stream down her face. 

Emily found it gut-wrenchingly hard to do this. She was awake when Alison's parents were in her room. She couldn't bare to look at Ali's parents when they were begging her to stay, but thanking her for the time Ali had with her if things didn't turn out like they wanted it too. 

She couldn't keep her disguise on when her mother had started bawling, asking god not to take their only daughter away from them. She could hear her dad's cries, as he told her how much he loved her; how proud he was of her. 

How could she not cry, when the one person she truly loved, and the one person who truly loved her, was pouring out her heart to her; terrified that they'd never share another moment together. And all she could do was sit there and cry along. She couldn't reassure her everything was going to be alright. She couldn't say anything, she couldn't even hug her. 

She could see the worry, the anxiety, the stress..all of it. She could see right through Alison. She knew that the blonde was going to have a tough time with this. This is why she wished she had just walked away. She could ruin someone as special as Alison DiLaurentis, if she didn't make it through this. But no, she couldn't let her go and Alison wouldn't just let her. 

Emily slowly lifted her hand to Alison's cheek, her fingers ghosting over Alison's warm, rosy cheeks. Her eyes lit with the special light that was reserved for Alison, and Alison only. Ali knew, she knew exactly what Emily was trying to say. 

"I love you." Alison kept whispering, desperately hoping that in a matter of hours, she could hear Emily say it back to her, instead of silently tell her. She placed a kiss on Emily's cheek, barely choking out a "I'll see you in a few hours" before she basically stormed out of the room. 

She had blown by her parents as well as Emily's. All four of them calling for her, but she was on a mission. She knew the surgery wouldn't start for another hour or so, and nobody would be out to provide any sort of update in at least three hours. So that gave her plenty of time to do something she set her mind to when she was waiting to see her girlfriend. 

"Wait." Spencer said to her team in the operating room. She took command of the room, even though the chief of surgery was in there operating as well. "I'd like to take a minute to say a quick prayer. If you don't pray, I just ask you to stay silent for one minute." 

Spencer had been praying especially hard since she got the call from Sandra this morning. Toby had helped her, reassuring that she had this. Everything would turn out exactly the way it was supposed to. 

"Now, I need positive vibes. From everyone." Sometimes, it was all the difference. If one person believed they were going to save a patient, then their odds were better. But if the entire room believed it, then it seemed as if it was a sure fire thing that the surgery would be successful. "We are going to save this woman's life today."

Alison stared at the wall. With the incessant pain washing over her, somehow she felt better. She felt like somehow, she could understand some of Emily's pain, even if it was for only fifteen minutes. She could feel tears in her eyes. How could Emily endure a pain much more intense than this and on the daily, for this long? 

"Do you need a break?" The woman stopped, taking a moment to take in Alison's appearance. 

"No, keep going." 

The woman carried on, as did the world. The world kept working: kept turning. The world didn't stop for anyone; it was cruel in that way. If you were trapped in the wrath of the thick storm, the world gave you a big middle finger and kept going on without you. But for Alison, her world could come to a screeching halt in a matter of hours. She wouldn't be lost in the storm. Because her world wouldn't keep turning, not without Emily in it. Without Emily, her world no longer existed.


	25. Chapter 25

After over three years later, it was finally Toby and Spencer's big day. So much can change in a day let alone three years, but Spencer and Toby's love for one another only grew stronger. As did other relationships. 

Alison grew extremely close with Emily's parents, and she felt like she became even closer with her own parents, even though she had no clue that was even possible. The amount of trauma they all had been through together, was enough to make an everlasting bond. 

Alison had walked around, drink in her hand, wandering aimlessly through the reception portion of the big day. Almost every single person had stopped her to talk to her. She had the same conversation with everyone she talked too, that is, until Spencer finally stopped her. 

"Hey." Spencer smiled and hugged the blonde tightly. "Your speech was so good." Everyone, literally everyone, was either crying or on the verge of crying. Spencer was a puddle of tears herself, listening to all the kind words, and beautiful memories that Alison had recounted in front of the large crowd. 

"Good, I worked on that thing for over three years." Ali chuckled, pulling away from Spencer so she could finish the rest of her drink. 

"You're probably pretty popular today, aren't you?" 

"Um, yeah." Ali shrugged, looking into the bottom of the glass, making a note to herself that she needed more. "But you better get back out there, I'm sure Toby is waiting for you and everyone's attention should be on you today." 

"Okay." Spencer smiled as she reached out for Alison's wrist. "You know, I love you too my bestie." With one final hug, Spencer made her way back to the middle of the floor while Alison moved in the opposite direction. 

She pushed her way through the never ending sea of people. She caught sight of a few people smoking outside. Some fresh air sounded like something Alison really needed at the moment. Alison got a refill on her glass of wine before she pushed herself through the crowd and into the chilly night. 

"Toby." Alison noticed the sharp suited man standing next to the fire right away. "I just sent Spencer to look for you, she'll be waiting for you." With a beaming smile and a quick, "see you later" Toby was off like a colt at the start of a race. 

Alison sat on the little bench beside the fire, taking the glass to her lips once again. Her eyes watched the flames bounce and flicker with every new ounce of energy. Her body shivered, even though she was right next to the blaze. 

"Is my little superstar cold already?" She felt the warm body next to her slide over, so that they were almost touching. 

"What were you two talking about?" Alison settled into the radiating heat next to her, connecting their bodies into a simple embrace. 

"Nothing." Was all she got in reply. She turned her head to look at the beautiful goddess next to her. She had her gaze fixed on the orange flames as well. It was something she slowly came to know about the girl; she loved fires. 

"You making friends out here, or what?" Alison joked, taking her eyes over every single person that was outside. She heard the girl hum and give her a slight head shake, letting her know that she probably wasn't even listening. Chances are, she was totally spaced out. "You never were the loquacious type." Ali chuckled, searching and connecting her hands with her. 

Alison let her brain swirl in thought for a while. She too found herself start unwind. It didn't come as a surprise to her. Anytime she was this close, her worries slipped away. "Emily." Alison finally broke the brunette of her thoughts, curious as to what was captivating the girl's mind for the past ten minutes. "What are you thinking about?" 

"You." Emily finally looked down at her. The light in her eyes were brighter than the fire. "I always think about you, baby." Emily moved her head to rest her cheek on the top of Alison's blonde locks. 

"Em." Toby had found her by the fire, he sat next to her, staring into the flames just as she was. "When the hell is it going to be your day?" 

"What?" She felt a warm, fluttering feeling take over her body. She had finally started imagining what her's and Alison's wedding could look like. 

"I think Ali is getting a little anxious." Which was just a little white lie. Toby knew that Ali was getting extremely anxious. Every time Alison would be over to help Spencer plan their own wedding, Alison would always bring up how she hoped to marry Emily soon. "What are you waiting for?" He'd heard Alison basically whining that Emily promised she would propose when she was healthy. And now, she was, yet there was no ring on the blonde's finger. 

"I don't know." Emily sat back into the bench and dramatically rubbed at her face with the palm. "I'm terrified." 

"Of what?" Toby chuckled, but when he turned to look at Emily, he could see the inner turmoil. "What are you scared of Em?" 

"I..how do I know when to do it?" She played with her fingers in her lap. "Is she even ready? Does she really want to marry me?" It was something she couldn't stop thinking about. Did Alison only propose to her because she was scared that it would be their last happy memory together? Or was she ready then, in that moment? "What if it's not good enough? What if she doesn't like the ring? What if I mess it up?"

"It's part of the process, Emily. I was scared too, my hands were shaking the entire date before I proposed to Spencer." Toby also didn't want to tell Emily that Alison was ready, and then putting pressure on Emily to propose, because that's exactly how the brunette was. "When you are ready, pop the question. That girl loves you so much, I don't think she could ever say no to you." 

Alison lived for tender moments like this. Lately, all they've been sharing since Emily was released out of the hospital has been very heart warming moments. Both Emily and Alison were both extremely eager to get back to fluffy moments, instead of the hard hitting emotional ones. 

It had been an emotional day, in the best way, when Emily was finally released from the hospital. It was surely a top moment of all time, Emily was able to ring the bell, signaling her last treatment, and then going back to her normal life. Of course they still had to be cautious even though the brunette was out of the woods. But living with a doctor had its perks, and its downfalls, but Alison would be watching Emily like a hawk from now on.

"Come on." Emily stood, tugging onto Alison's hand to follow her indoors. Which was something Alison didn't mind, she was starting to get cold. Emily squeezed her hand and opened the door for her, letting Alison walk in first. She noticed the look in Emily's eyes, it was that same love filled look that had been restored in Emily's eyes since she first woke up.

"You can drink the coffee, I'm sticking to my morning cup of apple juice." Alison heard a rough voice break through the silence. Had it not been for the lack of audience in the room, she wouldn't have know it was Emily's voice. 

They had taken Emily off of the ventilator, but she had fallen back asleep almost seconds later. It had been almost over a month of Emily not being able to physically breathe for herself. It wasn't something that they were too concerned about; the length she was on the ventilator after surgery. In fact, Spencer was a little surprised to see Emily off of it so quickly. Due to the fact that she couldn't breathe properly on her own before the surgery, she knew it would take some time after surgery as well. 

"What?" Alison was completely shocked, and a bit baffled, by the first words Emily had spoke in months.

"Our new tradition." Emily licked her dry lips, her eyes only half open, but the love that poured out of them was so deep, Alison could feel it in her toes. "You'll drink coffee in the morning, and I'll be drinking my apple juice. I don't like coffee, remember?"

"Would you like to dance with me?" Emily snapped her out of her thoughts. She noticed that almost all the couples were out on the dance floor, already dancing to the slow beat of a song she'd never heard before. Alison nodded, giving Emily a soft smile as she shuffled herself to be directly in front of the tanned beauty. She wrapped her arms around Emily's neck as Emily's hands found her waist. 

"Baby, when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever"

The lyrics hit hard for Alison. Alison felt this song spoke volumes of Emily's love for her. Alison hoped that one day, this could be hers and Emily's wedding song, because it was absolutely perfect for the two of them. Alison had stepped into the brunette, resting her head against Emily's chest. Her ear pressed directly over the heart that sounded strong as ever, Emily's cheek was pressed into the side of Alison's head. Alison didn't see it, but Emily had the biggest smile on her face. Emilys heartbreak was just another sound she never got tired of hearing. 

"You want to go home baby?" Emily whispered into Alison's ear, swiping a strand of hair behind her ear. Another slow song had played after, and Emily noticed that Alison's eyes were closed. She figured that the girl was tired, but she didn't know that Alison was trying to keep happy tears from spilling over. Alison just nodded her head against Emily's chest. She received a kiss to the cheek before Emily moved out of their embrace. 

"I'm just going to talk to Spencer for one minute." 

"I'm going to have a quick chat with Toby as well." Alison just wanted to have a quick word with the man about Spencer, and about his and Emily's conversation earlier. 

"Why didn't you talk to him earlier? You basically told him to leave us alone." Emily laughed, letting her eyes roam the crowded room in search for Spencer. Had Alison not been there, this definitely would be the type of event Emily would avoid. The crowd of people was insanely large, and people were talking to her left and right, inadvertently getting herself into some awkward moments. 

"Spencer was actually waiting on him." Alison, too, was scanning the crowd looking for Toby. She noticed him in the far left hand corner of the room. She quickly found Spencer on the opposite side of the room, and continued further, "plus I wanted to talk to you more." Alison whispered, standing on her tiptoes and pulling Emily's head in her direction with her hands to meet her plump lips. 

Neither Emily nor Alison got tired of kissing each other. It seemed that any downtime the two had, somehow they were affectionate with one another. It was as if Alison had gotten the clear message that life is short, and you can't take anything for granted. She was always snuggling up to the brunette, holding her as much as possible, and kissing her any chance she got. Not that Emily didn't want to do all that, because she loved how simple, easy, and compassionate they had been since she had gotten home. 

Emily hummed, swiping her tongue across the blonde's bottom lip. They got lost in each other, like they always did. It seemed to them that their lips were attached for only a split second. But to a couple bystanders, one being the wedding photographer, it seemed like Alison and Emily were vampires who were eating away at one another's face. Emily pulled back, knowing that they had gotten carried away once again. Alison smiled, her hands sliding down Emily's arms and to the brunette's hands. 

Emily leaned in and pecked Alison's lips again. She couldn't control herself, but at least she contained her desire to just a peck. "I'll meet you in the car?" She also wanted to get home quick, both Alison and herself had an early morning of work.

Emily had been back at work for almost half a year now, but she had just started her new role as chief only a month ago. The chief had worked with her until she was one hundred percent physically and mentally ready to take on the big job. The transition went smoothly, Emily was doing a fantastic job at the helm of the department. 

"Spencer." Emily quietly made her presence known, not wanting to startle the newlywed who was getting some food at the grand buffet. "Congratulations." Emily grabbed a piece of watermelon from the buffet and popped it into her mouth. "I um." She cleared her throat and rubbed her sweaty palms on her thighs. "I just wanted to apologize for delaying your wedding. Um, you, you could've tied the knot last year." Emily looked around, nervously, not being able to look into Spencer's eyes. 

When Alison and Spencer had met, Alison had repeatedly told her how awful Emily felt. To which Spencer told the blonde to tell Emily that it was what they wanted. "You know we wanted you here, healthy. Our day was perfect, you didn't ruin a damn thing." 

"But I-"

"Nothing." Spencer put down her plate on an empty portion of the buffet. "You gave a wonderful speech, you know that? Did you and Ali want to set a record for best speeches or what?" Spencer chuckled, nudging Emily's shoulder lightly. 

"Oh, no. Alison had her nose stuffed in her notebook for a good two months." 

"You know, I'm not surprised." Both of them lightly chuckled, knowing that that's exactly how Alison was. She obsessed over things, in a good way, until they were perfect or she was no longer concerned. 

"Congrats again," Emily smiled, finally meeting Spencer's friendly eyes "Ali and I are heading home. Thank you, for having me be a part of your day." 

"Ahh, off to go have some wedding sex?" Spencer teased, giving the brunette a knowing smirk. Spencer hand known that people often got the feelings that came along with a wedding, and knew that Alison was no different. In fact, she knew that Alison was probably having those wedding feelings at the most intense feeling. Sometimes she couldn't bare to listen to Alison ramble about her future wedding.

"Gosh, I'm so jealous of you." Alison slumped down onto the kitchen barstool next to Spencer, pushing a big folder out of the way so her purse could sit on the counter. 

"Why?" Spencer was a little jealous of Alison, if she was being honest. You're always supposed to believe that your relationship is the cutest, and "goals" as the young teens would say. But the stories she had heard about Alison and Emily's relationship; they were so cute. The things they did for each other, when they were mad, stressed, sick, you name it..they gave their all to one another. 

"You're going to be married soon." Alison put her left arm on the table, propping her chin into her hand with a pout on her face. "And you get to go on a honeymoon and have a bunch of married sex." Alison muttered, her eyes looking over each gigantic folder full of preparations for Spencer and Toby's big day. 

She wished it was her own coming up, but she didn't want to force the idea to the brunette. This was Emily's only real relationship, if she was being honest. Getting cheated on, multiple times nonetheless, and a quick relationship where one half was disinterested from the start, was not much of a background. And she knew that Emily was apprehensive of things, and she was still nervous if her behavior was okay. She knew Emily was still kind of settling into their relationship, so it's not like Alison was worried that Emily never wanted to get married. 

Because she knew Emily did. They had talked about it before. Emily even brought it up. Emily had told Sandra they would be married. Ali had proposed to Emily, and Emily didn't immediately run. Instead the ailing brunette said she would propose to Alison when she got out of the hospital, but that was almost a year ago now. 

"Yeah, but when you go on your honeymoon, you'll be in Bora Bora. Can't beat sex on the beach." Spencer shrugged. Spencer and Toby were going to hit some European cities to explore. 

"You think Emily will have sex on the beach with me?" Alison asked, her pouty demeanor changing into a hopeful one. 

"No." Spencer replied quickly, laughing at Alison's reaction; she went back to her pouting. 

"I don't even care if we go to Bora Bora for our honeymoon. I don't even care if we just stay in Rosewood for our honey moon. I don't care if our wedding isn't like I had planned." Alison wiped her finger under hey eyelid, clearing the pool of tears that were dangerously close to falling down her cheeks. "I just want us to have that." She wanted it bad. The crazy thing, she thought she'd never want it. She'd thought she'd never get to love someone like Emily, and get someone who loves her like Emily does. 

"And you will, you will Ali. Because you two are perfect. Like I get jealous of you sometimes...a lot but don't tell Toby that."

"No." Emily blushed hard, and she broke their gaze again. "N-no, um we have to work tomorrow morning, a-and it's already kind of late, for me." Which was entirely true. Emily was wiped out, normally she would've been sleeping for at least an hour maybe two. 

"I'm just teasing you Em." Spencer hugged the brunette tight, and sent her off for a goodnight's rest. "Thank you both for being here for both of us. Tell Ali I love her." 

"I will."

Pam and Wayne had been missing Emily, Alison, and their newly acquainted friends: the DiLauentis parents. Sending instant messages, calling, and FaceTime weren't exactly enough to fill their missing pieces. But Wayne got a job, to help pay bills and whatnot, which now prevented Pam and Wayne from visiting so often. It was a small job, literally just across the street from the Fields residence, where he wrote articles for an online website.

Emily came home considerably late for herself that Friday night. She had walked along the pebbles pathway, holding a pizza from their favorite place in one hand, while the other carried her keys. She had loved how the house turned out, both on the outside and the inside. Alison was over the moon about the place, she lived the modern indoor design mixed in with the perfect amount of simplicity. It was a stunning house, and every guest they had over, said it felt like a five star hotel. It was exactly as she had imagined it. Alison had made sure that the construction team that had built both of their dream home, left a final piece unfinished, so Emily could finish the task. It only felt right. 

Emily had slipped in the house, taking her black boots off in the mud room, and sling her big jacket that was hanging off her arm, onto the hook that was designated to her. She walked through the house, going to the fridge to pull two bottles of water before she headed downstairs where Alison was waiting for her. 

They had started new tradition together. Every Friday, they would get a pizza and play the Nintendo downstairs all night, since they both now had Saturday's off. Friday was the day that Emily had gotten out of the hospital and they ordered a pizza and played the Nintendo. Actually, Emily was surprised to find out that Alison hadn't played it at all while she was in the hospital. Alison wanted to wait, so that they could play it for the first time together. 

Emily walked down to the basement, finding that Alison had everything ready and waiting for her to come home. The Nintendo was up and running, Alison had brought down some extra pillows and blankets for them the get comfortable, while they sat on the floor and played. Alison's back was pressed against the couch, her fingers quickly dancing across her phone screen, probably typing some message to Spencer. 

"Hi baby." Emily said sweetly, utterly glad to be home and to see Alison. She set the two waters and the pizza on the small coffee table The was pushed to the side so that they had room to play their game. Alison quickly locked her phone, forgetting Spencer completely, because she was excited that the brunette was home too. 

Emily took a step over to the blonde and knelt on the floor, kissing the blonde a quick hello as well. "Hey babe. What kind did you get? I'm starving."

"Go ahead and dig in. I'm going to go change really quick and then I'll be back down."

Emily quickly ran upstairs, changing into her pajamas, which really was a pair of shorts, but they were only temporary, and a short sleeved shirt. She had noticed that her mom sent her a text, telling her to make sure that she was extra careful tomorrow and wished her good luck. Of course there was another message underneath, exclaiming that she loved Emily and Alison very much. 

By the time Emily had made it downstairs, the title screen was no longer playing for Super Mario and Alison had polished off a slice of pizza. Emily had stood over the blonde, slipping herself down in between the couch and the girl, so that Alison was sitting in her lap just like she always was when they played games. 

Alison took her turn first, almost making it through the level in one go. But unfortunately, she fell, well Mario fell to his death, from the vine because she didn't jump far enough to make it safely on the secure platform. 

The two always competed against one another. They would see who could complete more levels at the end of the night. Usually it ended in Alison bragging because she normally completely eviscerated Emily every time they had their little game night. Which was no surprise, considering Emily had never played the console before she had with Alison. Although, tonight seemed to be looking in Emily's favor, she easily completely the level on her first try, pinching Alison's sides and laughing in her face. 

They had trash talked between the two, but it was never something that turned into a real argument. It was just their competitive nature and they both wanted to tease the other when they had the upper hand. 

Tonight was the first night that Emily had come away victorious from their gaming session. She had pretty much teased Alison the entire night. Emily had finally gotten the hang of the Nintendo platform after the first night. She was able to pretty much beat every level almost every time, but she had let the blonde win the majority of the time. It brought her so much joy to see Alison dancing happily, and having fun, even if it costed her bragging rights. 

Even if Alison found out about Emily letting her win, it would be worth it. For every second that she was happy, was priceless to Emily. At least once every two weeks, she would be reminded of Jason somehow, and she'd bawl for hours. She'd be reminded of Emily's state, and she'd get the ice cream out. Or sometimes she would be stressed about work, or a patient died. Really, it was still no different, Alison was still very emotional. 

"Em, are you nervous for tomorrow?" The two has settled into bed, Alison didn't really know how to gauge how Emily was feeling. Either she wasn't talking because she was nervous or she wasn't talking because she was actually tired, or potentially sleeping. 

"Hmm?" She finally answered as Alison started to rub soft patterns in Emily's back. 

"Never mind babe." Alison smiled to herself, feeling like she should've known that Emily wasn't nervous about tomorrow. She placed a gentle kiss to Emily's neck, getting another soft hum in return. 

Not a moment later, the loud ringing and buzzing of Alison's phone shot through the room. Emily groaned loudly and Alison rolled over, checking the number, only to silence the call. She wasn't exactly up for talking anyway, she figured if it was important, they would call back. "I have no clue who would be calling me at this time of the night." Alison stated, getting a little agitated herself. 

"Ali, you've changed how surgery is done. You came up with a device that will help prevent the recovery time of patients who have their chest cracked open during surgery. Of course everyone is going to want to talk to you." Emily's voice was gruff, but the blonde knew it was only from the brunette's tiredness. 

But she also knew that Emily was right. There were so many new articles and stories about her in the local news. So many stations wanted interviews with her. They wanted to know where the inspiration came from, and it all came from her girlfriend. "Oh, that reminds me. We're not going to your parents on Sunday. I'm taking you out to celebrate, I already cleared it with them." She quietly mumbled, falling asleep only seconds after she had finished her sentence.

It was a successful night at the stadium. The first time Emily stepped onto the field, she received a standing ovation. Although the stadium wasn't jam packed full, it was still a pretty powerful moment. She too was going to be on the news the following day, as the local news station was there to capture her first moments back on the field. 

Emily flopped onto the bed, her small travel bag that held all of her football gear in fell to the floor next to her side of the bed. Emily buried her face into the comforter, as she laid sideways across the bed. Her eyes drifted shut as she heard Alison start the shower, Emily had wanted to shower as well, but her body was so tired. 

Of course she had trained herself up again, and was in almost the same physical strength she was before, but playing football took a whole different level of strength and muscles. She hasn't used them in ages, and she felt it already. Her entire body throbbed, the hits her body absorbed felt fine at the time. Actually, she was thankful that no one treated her any different now. 

"Babe." Alison had to shake her awake, seeing that she couldn't even get into bed since Emily was sprawled over her side of the bed, as well as her own. Alison had gone downstairs and grabbed a water bottle and a pain reliever for Emily to take now. She knew that Emily was likely to be very sore, especially when she heard the noise Emily made when she plopped on the bed. 

"Here." She shoved the brunette a little hard, handing the water bottle and the little pill out for Emily to take. Her eyes didn't even open, the brunette just grumbled, holding her palm open for Alison to place the mystery item in her hand. "Take this." Alison spoke softly, dropping the pill in Emily's hand, watching the girl pop it in her mouth. She handed the bottle of water over to the sleepy brunette who practically drank the whole bottle in one go. 

"I'm so sore." Emily whined her words barely audible, her body still unmoving. 

"I can give you a massage?" Ali asked, placing her hand on Emily's back, while she leaned a little closer to the brunette to hear her eventual answer better. 

Nearly a half hour later, Emily was wide awake. Her body felt a million times better, whether it was due to Alison's hands, or the pain reliever. Now, Alison had her knees pressed firmly into the mattress, on both sides of Emily's torso. Her fingers traced along the long scar in between her breasts. 

"I almost lost you." Alison whispered, her voice still faltered at the thought of losing Emily. 

Emily sat up, shifting Alison into her lap. Delicately, she moved the shoulder of Alison's baggy nightshirt off her shoulder. She leaned in, her lips lightly making contact with the etched words on her skin. She pulled back, her thumb running over her own scribbled words right underneath Alison's collarbone:

'I love you' 

She pressed her cheek against Alison's other collarbone, her nose pressed against the pale neck, her arms wrapped tightly around Alison's waist. "I'm here. I'm never leaving you Alison." She knew how fragile Alison was today. 

Just this morning, Alison was looking for Emily's cleats that she had stored away. But of course she had forgotten where she had put them. Upon her search for the cleats, she found a box full of home videos from when she and Jason were little. She had sat on their couch, crying almost all morning. Somehow, Emily had the instinct because she came home with some flowers and a box of chocolates just because. Of course, she had sat on the couch with the blonde, Alison literally used her shoulder to cry on. Her white short sleeved shirt had a gigantic patch of a black smudge, from Alison's mascara. 

Thankfully, in Emily's mind anyway, she had stopped just to treat her girl. She had always found it easiest to settle Alison down, or comfort her, with something such as her favorite snacks, food, ice cream, etcetera. But in reality, Alison just needed her to be there, to hold her, or tell her it would all work out, and Emily always was. 

Alison's right hand repeatedly stroked the back of Emily's head. Feeling Emily's now longer hair, made her so happy. It was just passed her shoulder blades, the growth being well on its way to where it used to be. "God, I love you so much Emily." The tears the blonde was trying to hold back fell freely. 

"I love you too." Emily whispered, kissing a path from Alison's neck to her soft lips. Their lips contacted, a strong desperation clashing between the two. Alison nails dug into Emily's bare back and somehow her other hand moved to rest on Emily's stomach, while Emily pressed further into the blonde, dominating the kiss.

Emily slipped her hands underneath Alison's night shirt, her thumbs circled the soft skin on Alison's hips, leaving a wake of goosebumps in her path. "God Em." Alison moaned at the feeling of Emily nipping at her neck. 

Emily lifted Alison's shirt over her head, immediately attaching her lips back to Alison's neck. Gently, she pushed forward, leading Alison to lie flat on her back against the mattress as she hovered over her. She settled between Alison's legs, her body weight slightly on the blonde. 

She kissed a trail of wet kisses down her neck, making a quick pit stop at the permanent words on her skin once more. She stopped her descent at Alison's breasts. Her mouth clamped over the erect nipple, her tongue teasing it to perfection. Her left hand trailed slowly in between their bodies, her hand slipping in the waistband of Alison's shorts and panties. 

Alison shuddered, her hips bucking forward into Emily's palm. She let out a shaky breath, the sensations she was feeling froze her. It was like she was so overwhelmed, that she couldn't react, her body could only soak in every ounce of pleasure Emily could give her. "I thought you were sore-" the moaned, breathy words got caught in her throat when Emily's finger dipped into her core. 

Emily dragged the tip of her tongue from Alison's breast all the way to her ear, whispering "I'm going to make you feel as miserable as me." Emily's eyes had darkened, that look had always sent her head for a spin. 

Alison whimpered, Emily's finger now circling her throbbing bud. Her head fell backwards, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Her breaths were heaving, heavy as Emily slid back down her body. The anticipation bubbled within Alison. She reached her boiling point, Emily had slid her shorts off her legs. Emily's tongue had built a consistent rhythm. She used an array of long strokes, quick circular strokes, and taking the bundle into her mouth, suckling on it. Her efficient work had Alison unraveled in no time. 

"Emily?" Alison tried getting Emily's attention before she drifted off into the abyss of sleep. Just by her breathing, she could tell that Emily was right on the edge of that dark hole, that captured Emily until she was rudely awaken in the morning. Her head was resting on the brunette's shoulder, her hand tracing along the waistband of Emily's shorts and her lower abdominal muscles. 

"Yeah?" She shifted, her head flopping towards Alison, her eyes fluttering open. Her brown eyes pooled, with so much adoration. She had kept noticing that it seemed like Emily's love grew for her more and more. She loved how much emotion Emily's eyes had always held. Although, when she was struggling, and in pain, she hated it. Emily giggled, sleepily, at the feeling of Alison's nails dragging along her stomach. "Why do you always do that?" 

"What, this?" She asked smirking, trailing her nails lower on her stomach. "Because," she started, more seriously "your skin is so soft and warm. You're intoxicating." Her eyes took in the light smile Emily shot her through closed eyes. She was perfect. She felt insanely lucky to be by her side everyday, hopefully for the rest of her life. 

"I-I-" she stopped, her eyes already springing with tears. She sniffled, wiping at her eyes quickly, before she focused back on the brunette. Her hand coming to a rest on Emily's face, her thumb running along her sharp jawline. 

"Baby, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing." She smiled, leaning in to press a quick kiss to Emily's cheek. "I'm just feeling..I'm just really grateful to have you." She nuzzled her nose into the warmth of Emily's neck, getting a whiff of her scent. "I just love you so much." 

"I love you so much more." Emily replied without missing a beat. A single tear dropped, hitting Emily's warm collarbone. "I still can't believe you got a tattoo. Why would you get my ugly writing?" She asked. She had never asked Alison why and she was always curious to know. 

"I almost lost you." She started, her hand moved down to Emily's scar, her palm flat against the tainted skin. "But even then, you made me feel loved. Even in your worst state, you made sure I was loved every single day." She paused, thinking back to everyday that she had left Emily's hospital room with a smile on her face. Sure, it might've been small some days, but even just seeing the brunette made her day all that much better. "That's how I know we are going to last forever."


	26. Chapter 26

Emily saw the door to the roof open. She figured the stray cat that probably lived in the building needed some rescuing before she closed the door. She walked slowly, careful not to startle the little creature off of the eight story building. But to her surprise, she wasn't met with a little critter. Quickly she typed out a message to Toby, and slipped her phone back in to her pocket. 

She wished she hadn't left her coat in the car. The snow underneath her boots crunched when she took steps to the ledge of the building. They had been hit with a pretty heavy snowstorm, just one day before Thanksgiving. That meant, they would have a long cold winter. And today was no different, it was cold out, and she wasn't prepared to be outside for much longer than two minutes. 

She sat down on the ledge, looking down at the busy city below. She could feel herself starting to get worked up and having no idea what to say to the young adult next to her. "Y-you don't have to do this." Emily didn't want to be blunt, or say the wrong thing to the girl. It was clear that she still had people who cared about her, considering that there was a note left in the doorway under a pebble. 

"I don't...I'm losing everybody." The girl sniffled, still not bringing her eyes up to meet Emily. At least she had her winter jacket on, at that, Emily was jealous. "My parents are getting a divorce, my best friend is mad at me because we had the same crush except he chose her. So now she's avoiding me. I'm failing classes. My scholarship is gone. I'm scared, I don't know what to do." The girl rambled off, shaking with every sob. Emily was terrified she was going to fall with each movement her body made. 

"I feel like the world is crumbling from underneath my feet." She swiped her hand through her hair. "I feel so alone; nobody understands me. Nobody cares about me."

"I understand how you feel." Emily simply stated, trying to get the girl to see how it was okay to feel these things. Her feelings were valid, but that didn't mean she had to give up.

She finally saw the green eyes of the girl next to her. Her long black hair fell down past her shoulders. She squinted through her tears at Emily's badge. "What the hell do you know Captain Fields? Your life must be so perfect." 

Emily sometimes wished her life was perfect, but on the bright side, it was starting to look that way. Everything would be so simple if her life was a fairytale. She tilted her head to the side, her tongue clicking once off the roof of her mouth as she turned her gaze out past the city. "I'd say it's been anything but that." She focused on that invisible point where the sky meets land. 

"I um," she always found it odd to say to someone, and she would never say it to a stranger. "I was born with a genetic condition; I'm intersex." Emily felt her insides shaking, but her hands were not. 

"Wow, that's pretty rare. You must've been picked on a lot." Somehow, Emily's confession made the girl stop crying. Probably due to the shock factor, at least that's what Emily thought. 

"No. No, everyone kind of left me alone." 

"That's bullshit." Emily was surprised. Her parents had known that Emily was teased throughout her short schooling time, but Emily insisted that it wasn't all that bad when they asked. But she had fed the lies to Alison as well, but she didn't pick up on the lie. "I know how kids are. Plus, you answered way too quickly. You don't need to lie to me, I mean look at where we are." 

"I just ignored it, really, it wasn't that bad." Emily sighed, trying to settle herself down, but it seemed like it only made her insides shake more. "My dad got in a car accident and now he's paralyzed. My parents moved away when I was eighteen, just so my mom could get paid more. I um, I had cancer when I was fifteen and then I was just diagnosed again almost five years ago now." 

"Holy shit, you are like, just wow." The girl was literally speechless. How could someone sustain so much heartbreak? 

She smiled weakly, rubbing the nonexistent sweat off her hands onto her thighs. "Usually I'm really awkward because of isolation from people and then being away from high schoolers, but I think I'm just so nervous that I'm not being awkward I guess." Emily chuckled at herself and wrung her hands together. "I'm scared too." Emily admitted. 

"Of what? You're like a god! You beat cancer twice. Wait you did beat it, right?" The girl sounded genuinely concerned, but felt relieved when she got a nod of confirmation from the brunette. 

"I have this amazing, amazing girlfriend. And I told her I would propose the minute I was cancer free. But that was over a year ago already." Emily could feel her nerves starting to build up again, and she probably would explode if she hadn't talked to Toby about it two months ago. "I'm terrified that everything is going to change." Emily blew out a breath, a cloud forming due to the chilliness. 

"Of course it's going to change.." she looked at Emily's badge again, just to double check if she remembered her name correctly "Fields. But you guys will experience everything together." 

"I can't work myself up to do it." She had thought about making their night an unforgettable moment, but her nerves had always gotten the better of her. "But I think I will eventually." She blew out another shaky breath. The girl beside her, who seemed ready to jump, was more put together than she was. Emily felt like she was about to explode with nerves. Like she was a bottle of Coca-Cola that you purposely shook up, and then opened it. "But I just, I need you to understand that things will turn out better for yourself." 

"But what do I do from here?" Her voice trembled now that the spotlight was back on her again. "How do I fix all of this?" 

"Maybe you can go to a community college and work your way back up. Maybe you can find a good job right after high school. But you can't give up." Emily finally looked back at the girl, who now seemed to be hearing every word that Emily was saying. "You don't know what your future holds. You'll meet your dream guy. Maybe you'll become famous and rich, then you can get the last laugh on your friend and that crush." 

"But you have to know, your parents love you. It doesn't matter that they're apart. They care about you, your wellbeing, your future. That isn't going to change no matter how far apart they are, from each other or from you. Trust me, we both just have to surge on."

She watched the girl shake her head, as if she was running things through her mind on last time. The girl nodded, she swung her legs to the left, her shoes crunched in the snow as she stood. Emily followed, she rubbed her red hands together, blowing into her cupped hands to provide them some warmth. She shoved them in her pockets, rocking back and forth on her heels while she stood there, awkwardly standing there waiting for another officer to come to the roof. 

"I see exactly what you mean." The girl chuckled, breaking the silence between them. "You just talked to me on the edge of a building. I think you're pretty cool." 

Emily nodded, still not knowing exactly what to say. She just revealed some very personal things with a stranger, and she didn't quite know how to feel about that. 

"You propose to that insanely lucky girl, and I'll stay in school, deal?" The girl stuck her hand out, a small smile on her face. Honestly, somehow Emily had made her feel better. Emily believed in her, and really, a stranger believing in her, that meant so much to her. 

Emily shook her hand, humming in response. She motioned towards the door, picking up the note under the small pebble by the door as she passed it. She spotted one of their newer officers, Taylor, making his way up the stairs. Quickly, she shoved the crumpled paper into the girl's hand, and quietly whispered "here. Keep it as a reminder for when you're on top. You'll see how far you've been able to grow since you were at your lowest."

Emily went home early, fairly early actually. The morning had stressed her out, she had decided she would stay late when she came back in to work. The brunette got the fire place started, letting herself linger at the mantle. Her fingers gently grazed over every picture and memento on the little shelf. She grabbed the folded blanket off the back of the couch, and settled into the soft cushions, letting herself get lost into whatever show was playing on the television.

Spencer had searched for Alison while she was on their lunch break. Usually Alison was the one waiting in the cafeteria for her, but today it was vise versa. Her eyes darted between the doors, hoping that the blonde would walk in soon. 

She was so focused on looking for Alison, she hadn't noticed Alison walk in and already in line getting some food. She was startled when Alison set her tray down on the table, emphatically, and huffed, immediately starting to dig into her food. 

Spencer stared at her, thinking that Alison hadn't seen the news. "Um," Spencer cleared her throat quickly "did you, um happen to see the news today?" 

"Ugh," she sighed and dropped her fork onto her tray "don't tell me we're getting something big?" 

"Um, here." Spencer slid her phone over to Alison. She knew that Alison wouldn't like what she was about to see. She watched her reaction, and she wasn't even surprised at it. She knew her best friend. Especially with what Emily just went through, how could she not be pissed that she was dangling on the edge of an eight story building?

"Ooooh, I'm going to kill her." 

"Emily!" The blonde bursted through the door, immediately calling for the brunette. The house smelled wonderful, and she noticed a couple small duffel bags next the the entryway. 

"Hey baby!" Emily yelled back, her voice carried from the kitchen. "How was work?" Alison stomped into the kitchen, she saw Emily, with her back turned to her. 

"Are you fucking insane?" She hit Emily in the back of the shoulder with the back of her hand, admittedly a little harder than she expected. She had enough force to actually moved the brunette's shoulder. 

"Ow!" Emily quickly stopped what she was doing, setting down the big pot onto the counter and running to the sink. She turned the cold water on, letting it run along her burning hand. "What was that for?"

"Seriously? Do you like to give me a heart attack?" She scoffed, her anger and stress had built inside of her all day. And now that she was home, she was finally able to release it all. "And you weren't wearing a jacket! Emily, there's snow on the ground. You don't need to get sick again." Alison lectured, sounding exactly like her mother. 

Actually, it was pretty much the same speech she received from her mother. Her father on the other hand, thought it was impressive. Emily had been at the helm of the department for only months, and she was already handling it like she had been doing it for years. 

"Ali." Emily tried softly. She turned the water off, grabbing a towel to dry her hands. She turned around to face Alison, her back resting into the counter space. 

"Babe, you cant-"

Emily threw the towel back onto the counter, pushing herself off of counter to take a step towards the fuming blonde. "It's my job, Ali." 

"But you're the boss now Emily! Can't you just sit in your office and do paper work all day? I don't want you getting shot at. I don't want you sitting on edges of buildings. You almost died already Emily."

"Hey," Emily put her palms on Alison's shoulders, calming the girl of her anxiety "will you please just go upstairs and change? I had a date planned to help you relax." She kissed her cheek, quickly alternating kisses between Alison's cheek, making the blonde giggle happily. "Please?" Emily mumbled in between kisses. 

"Yes. Okay, fine." She gripped Emily's cheeks with her hands, holding Emily's head in place, meeting Emily's lips with her own. 

"Go." Emily whispered, smiling warmly at the blonde, kissing the blonde once more. Alison had pulled back, she took in what Emily was wearing to gauge what she needed to put together for herself. 

"Are you wearing those joggers on our date?" Alison asked, clearly judging what Emily was wearing on their night out. 

"Yes. Get changed into something warm and comfortable." Alison looked at her skeptically, nodding as she turned to head up the stairs. "Trust me!" Emily yelled, finally finishing her tasks from before Alison had returned home.

Emily had piled numerous bags in the back of her truck. Alison had learned to never ask where they were going, because no matter how hard she tried, Emily would never tell her. 

They rode in silence, Alison could feel how tense Emily was. She reached over, gripping Emily's hand and brought it to her lips. Hoping that it would send the message that she really needed to relax. All she got in return was a quick glance in her direction, before those brown eyes were set back on the road. 

As soon as Emily stopped the truck, she started freaking out herself. Emily had stopped the truck in the middle of the snowy covered trees, just off the main road. She was instructed to sit in the car until Emily came back and got her. 

"Alright," Emily finally came back after about 15 minutes. Alison had been texting her mom and Spencer, just seeing what they were up to for the night. "I know that it's not perfect, but....well just come see." 

Alison, not so eagerly got out of the warm truck and into the brisk night. In the bed of the truck, Emily had laid down an inflatable mattress, the pit perfectly to the bed of her truck, a bundle of blankets, strings of battery operated lights that ran along the entire bed frame of the truck including one string that ran along the back window, and a couple thermos's. 

"You're nuts."

Sure, she complained for all of two seconds, because she actually liked the night so far. They were able to eat the homemade chicken noodle soup Emily had made for them in a different kind of bliss. It was a quiet night, the two had talked while they waited for the stars to illuminate the sky. 

"Are you excited to hold our first Thanksgiving?" Last year, they had still gone to Alison's parents house, but now it was their turn to hold this year's feast for the first time. Granted, it was only going to be both Alison's parents and Emily's parents joining them. 

"Of course I am." And Ali was really excited. They had an insanely gorgeous home to hold everyone's hospitality in, and it was time to take the duty off of her parents hand. "I'm just really glad I have you to cook while I'm at work tomorrow." Ali laughed, her hand falling on Emily's chest.

"I suppose that's the only thing I'm good for." Emily joked, the two of them sharing a quiet laugh. They had finally spotted the stars peeping out of the darkness about twenty minutes ago, and they had been silent up until now. "I think it'll be fun. I can't wait to see my mom and dad." 

Ali could tell that Emily had missed her parents a lot. Sometimes she'd come home, and Emily would be locked away in her little art studio. The only problem...she'd stare at the walls with some slower song playing in the background, no brush in hand. "I wish it was just more than our parents coming, but I think it'll be great." Alison shivered, trying to snuggle further into Emily to regain some heat. "I miss my nephew." 

"Me too." Emily felt Alison shiver against her body again. "Do you want some more hot chocolate?" Emily looked at her, eyebrows raised in anticipation of her answer. 

"Ooh, that would be good." Emily set the two cups, along with the thermos and it's cap on the top of the frame of the truck. She grabbed a cup, carefully pouting the hot chocolate as to not spill any. "Thanks babe." Alison took the cup carefully, sighing in relief, feeling the warm contents rush down her throat. 

"Oh shit." Emily quickly threw the covers off of her. "I dropped my cup and the thermos cover." 

Ali giggled, taking another large drink of her hot chocolate. It hit the perfect spot. "Ali? I can't find the cover." She heard Emily call, she could already hear how rattled Emily was in her voice. 

"Em, it's alright. Just forget about it; we'll buy another thermos. Get back up here." 

She should've known that her attempt wouldn't work. When Emily didn't respond, and wasn't back in the bed of the truck, Alison sighed and pushed the covers off of herself. She knew Emily was probably freaking out, all because she couldn't find a god damn cover to a thermos. 

"Em, it's alright. We'll find it." She slid herself off the tailgate of the truck. Knowing that she wasn't leaving here until they found the cover. She walked around to the side Emily was on, immediately becoming frozen in place. Emily was down on one knee, now holding onto her own hand. 

"I-I know it's not perfect. O-or what you dreamed of. I know that you're my forever. You're my present and my future. I see how outgoing you are, and that inspires me to try harder to be less awkward. I see how hard you work. I admire how you cook before I get home. I look up to you Alison. You're my everything baby. I want to experience everything life has to offer with you. Alison DiLaurentis, will you marry me?" 

"Yes." Alison could feel her insides shaking, happy tears pooling in her bright ocean eyes. "Oh my god, yes." Alison whispered. As soon as the ring was on her finger she pulled Emily up, quickly smashing their lips together in a heated kiss. 

Their kiss broke and Emily wrapped Alison into a bone crushing hug. Alison rubbed her hand up and down along Emily's back, trying to soothe the brunette. Emily's entire body was shaking, her body vibrating against her own. 

"You okay?" Alison whispered, she could feel her shaking start to lessen with each passing moment. 

"I was just so nervous." Ali chuckled, pulling back from Emily, placing her lips on Emily's soft lips again. "I know it's not your dream to be proposed to while I'm wearing a hoodie and joggers and you have on my sweats and my academy crewneck, and the ring is smaller than-"

"Shut up." Emily's eyebrows furrowed. Ali didn't miss the confused look on Emily's face, which she thought was adorable. "Look, the ring is perfect. It's beautiful. It doesn't matter that when I was twelve I was imagining a diamond that weighed a hundred pounds, it's impossible anyway." Ali smiled, a wide toothy grin. "No, I didn't imagine saying yes while I was in the scrubbiest clothes. But I don't care, because if you would've done something insanely fancy and flashy, I would've known you were proposing." 

"Sweetheart, I loved it because it's you. This whole," she spun around, her arms gesturing toward the truck and stars before she turned back to the brunette "this is you. I don't care if anything goes by my dream book when I'm with you. I just want to be with you and most importantly, I want you to be comfortable with everything." Ali took ahold of Emily's still trembling hands. "Okay? I love you."

A pair of screams scared both Wayne and Kenneth, who were in the living room watching a football game. It wasn't the terrified type of scream, it was the happy, bubbly type of screams. They both looked at each other briefly, smiling as they shook their heads as their wives went nuts in the kitchen. 

Alison had sent her mother a picture of her hand, showing off the medium sized diamond sitting on a thin silver band that was now resting on her left ring finger. "Oh my god! Yay! I'm so happy." Both Jessica and Pam were jumping up and down, dancing, and grinning ear to ear. They hugged briefly, but couldn't hold their composure for long as they started bouncing off the walls once again. 

"She finally asked! Woohoooo!" Jessica yelled so loud, probably every neighboring state had heard her. Of course now both women were extremely excited for tomorrow. They would get to drool over the newly engaged couple all day. 

"Wait." Pam finally caught up to what Jessica had said. Emily hadn't told neither Wayne nor herself that she had even talked to Alison's parents. Emily had told them she was planning on getting a ring, basically the week after she got out of the hospital. They were able to help Emily out a bit, and gave their daughter some money to help cover the cost. Although it wasn't an extravagant amount, Emily was able to find a very pretty ring within her new budget. "She talked to you guys?"

"Of course." Jessica had calmed down, seeing the demeanor on Pam's face. "It was the first week she was in the hospital. She asked for our blessing and of course we said yes." Pam smiled, knowing that Wayne would be just as proud as she was. "She was a nervous wreck, just like I'm sure she was tonight."

"We're officially going to be family!"

All morning, Emily was frantically trying to prepare everything. She woke up at the same time as Ali, kissing the blonde goodbye until about two o'clock. Of course, Emily went back to sleep after Alison had left, since it was entirely too early to start cooking. And the fact that the brunette could barely keep her eyes open all but sealed the deal that she would be resting longer. 

Emily was peeling potatoes when her phone started ringing. She quickly answered her phone and put it on speaker, so she could continue with the potatoes. "Hello?" 

"Hey babe." Ali greeted flirtatiously. She heard a rhythm of loud crunches. "What is that?" 

"I'm cutting potatoes." She could basically hear the anxiety in Emily's voice. 

"Okay. Just relax, everything will get done." Thankfully, both her parents and Emily's parents, well in reality Jessica and Pam, had both made a dessert with each other last night to bring. "Slow down, don't cut-"

Before she could even get the words out she heard "ow! Shit!" 

"-your fingers." Great. Alison shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. Of course that would happen, because why not. 

"Em? Tell me how bad it is." Alison tried staying calm, hoping that it wouldn't make Emily freak out even more than she already was. But instead all she got back in return was silence. "Babe?" Her calm facade was now gone. 

She heard Emily giggle, "just kidding." Again she heard the chopping and Emily's booming laugh. She sighed heavily, a little upset with the brunette. 

"That wasn't funny." Alison said sternly, even though it was just the tiniest bit funny. Now, if she actually chopped her finger off, that would've been a different story. 

"Sorry." The water started running, and then it was silent. She heard Emily dramatically sigh, pretty loudly. "Sorry, I'm just a little stressed out." 

"It was a little funny." Ali chuckled. "I'll be home closer to two-thirty. Chief wants to talk to me before I head home I guess." 

"Alright. Try not to show off that ring too much." Emily smirked, even though Alison couldn't see it she knew that it was present, just by the tone of Emily's voice. 

"I'll see you in a while. Love you." 

"Love you."

Emily had been on her feet all morning, and into the early afternoon. She didn't even have a minute to sit down. Their parents would be arriving at three-thirty. Normally, they would've arrived earlier, perhaps as soon as Ali got home herself, but both Kenneth and Jessica had some business to deal with at both of their workplaces before they could relax for the night. 

Emily was so engrossed in preparing ingredients for dishes, she hadn't heard Alison come in. Ali walked into the kitchen, the cooking turkey had hit her senses as soon as she walked into the door, and it smelled amazing. 

"Mmm." Ali hummed in Emily's ear, her arms wrapped around Emily's waist. "It smells good in here." 

"Hi baby." Emily greeted her, turning her head quickly to peck the blonde's lips before she returned to her prep work. 

Alison stepped back, leaning on her forearms against the island in the kitchen. She definitely loved the outfit Emily had on. She was wearing an older pair of shorts, her perfectly round ass on display for Alison, paired with a tight black v-neck, all underneath the white apron that read "kiss the chef." She watched as Emily put something in very full oven, before she turned around to flash Ali a bright smile. 

"God, you look so hot in an apron." Ali commented, stepping forward now and closing the distance between them. A peck on the lips wasn't enough to satisfy her needs. Emily gave her a questioning look, but Ali played it off cooly, "your apron says to kiss the chef." Although, she wanted to do other things to the chef, not just kiss her. "I think you deserve a little break. What do you say?" She batted her eyes at Emily, knowing that it was one of the brunette's weaknesses. 

Alison started peppering kisses to Emily's neck, darting her tongue out to tease the soft skin beneath her lips. Emily turned her head, looking at the clock. Ali's hand trailed down Emily's body, landing into Emily's groin. She slowly started rubbing her hand along Emily's soft member. "Ali, I've only got seventeen minutes before I need to start the green bean casserole." Emily half whined and half moaned. 

"That's plenty enough time." Her hand slipped in between Emily's stomach and her tight fitting shorts. She loved the fact that she always slept commando, or just in her boxers. Emily's breath hitched as Alison started jerking her member. "Let me help you destress babe." 

"Did you not get enough of me last night?" Emily moaned, her head falling back. Alison's lips were on her neck, her hand pumping even faster. 

"I can never get enough of you." Alison whispered. She dragged her tongue along the brunette's neck, hearing her whimper before she whispered again "we're wasting time." 

Fourteen minutes later, Emily sprinted down to the kitchen. Her shirt and shorts ditched, now only sporting the apron as her only cover. "Okay, can you please make sure nothing burns while I shower?" Emily asked, she discarded the apron and dug into her drawers for something to wear. She plucked a white and blue flannel and a pair of dark blue jeans. The blue flannel was by far Alison's favorite. She had found it on the clearance rack in American Eagle, and thought it was perfect for Emily to wear. She often stole the flannel for herself to wear. The material was so soft, not to mention that it smelled like the brunette, so that was another plus. "Five minutes. I swear, don't let anything burn." 

Ali was still naked, wrapped up in the white sheets on their California King sized bed. Thankfully, Emily like the mattress to be soft, just like Alison preferred. Emily had always wanted a fairly big bed, ever since she had been sleeping on a couch or a twin size almost all her life. So, she made the master bedroom big enough to fit the oversized bed as well as all the necessary furniture, along with the connected master bathroom. 

"What are you going to do if I burn something?" Alison questioned, the seduction just oozed out of her. 

"Nothing." Emily ran a hand through her hair, still feeling stressed out. She noticed Alison wasn't meeting her eye sight, and the blonde wasn't even trying to be discreet about it. Her eyes were glued on Emily's lower half, she felt like she was stuck in a trance to Emily's glistening skin. "Ali, please."

"Fine. I'll go watch your precious food." Ali started rustling in the sheets. She had pulled her outfit for their dinner last night. Once she was dressed and heard the shower running, she walked in, and leaned her back against the marbled counter top of the sink. "Oh Em, I forgot to tell you. Spencer and Toby's family will be coming over for dinner." 

"What?" Emily popped her head out of the curtain, soap still residing in her locks. 

"Yeah," Alison shrugged "I guess Spencer's parents burnt the turkey and they dropped almost every side dish on the floor amidst the chaos." 

"Ali! Oh my god, there's not enough food." Emily tuck her head back under the warm stream of water, quickly rinsing the rest of the soap out of her hair. "I'm going to have to run to the store. It's never going to be done on time Ali!" 

Quickly she shut off the water and threw back the shower curtain, jumping out of the shower. Emily's foot got tangled in the curtain, and she plummeted face first into the floor. At least the small carpet broke her fall. Ali cackled a loud laugh, slapping Emily's bare ass before she pranced out of the bathroom. "Just kidding." She yelled. Emily sighed, letting her head fall to the floor.

"Wow." Kenneth commented. Everyone was in the living room, taking a break from eating before they ate dessert. Emily had sprawled out on the love seat. When Alison came to lay with her, she got the boot because the brunette was too hot and too full to be next to someone. "I hate to even say this, I love you hunny, but that was the best food I've ever ate in my life. Well done Emily." 

Kenneth received a small slap to the arm, making the blonde snicker. Although it wasn't fully meant, because she was sure Emily could cook better than herself anyway. 

"Hey, I helped!" Ali smiled. 

"Sure." Emily commented sarcastically, her voice gruff, Alison thought she was already taking a nap. "You were supposed to make sure nothing burned while I showered, instead you were in the bathroom playing a prank on me." 

They all laughed, and settled into silence as they watched the football game on the television. To no surprise, when Alison looked over at the brunette, she was fast asleep. 

"I'm still amazed that she just passes out like that." Jessica laughed as Alison threw a wadded napkin at the brunette's face. "Was she the type of kid where you tell them to go to sleep and they actually do?" 

"Yeah." Wayne started laughing "one time she fell asleep on a rock when we were out adventuring and stopped at a waterfall." 

"Why am I not surprised?" Alison sarcastically asked. 

An hour and a half later, they were back around the table once again. This time they were digging into the pumpkin pie, ice cream, pistachio bars, and grandmas mistakes. 

"Okay, I have something to announce." 

"Ali, did you forget we all already know? We all congratulated you both when we arrived." Her dad gave her an odd look. 

"No." Alison chuckled, fiddling with the ring on her finger. All eyes were now on her. "I talked to the chief today. I got an incredible offer at the best hospital in the United States, in Los Angeles." 

Emily sat back in her chair, her expression blank. She saw the expression, the pure happiness on Alison's face, on her parents face, on Alison's parents face. But she didn't feel the same. She heard her parents getting excited that they would be near them again. She heard Alison's parents prematurely planning on retiring to California in a year or two. 

She couldn't move across the country. Whether she actually wanted to or not, she couldn't leave. And she didn't want to leave Rosewood. 

"Look alive Emmy!" Her mother excitedly exclaimed, snapping her from her thoughts. "We'll all be in the same town again!"

"It'll be so nice, no one will have to travel for holidays!"

Emily pushed her chair back, and quietly left the room. The commotion stopped, voices halted, as they all watched, completely perplexed, as Emily left the room. 

Emily walked into the basement, into her decent sized studio. Her hands shook as she paced the room, not entirely knowing how to react. She sat down at her desk, her head bowed into her folded arms as she let out a frustrated scream.

"Babe?" Emily didn't know how long she had been locked away, her thoughts and tears to herself. When she looked at the decorative clock on the wall, seeing that it now read past ten o'clock. She had been downstairs for at least an hour. She knew she'd have to go speak with her parents tomorrow before they left to make their journey back home. 

"Talk to me Em." Alison stood in the doorway, her arms crossed. She had come in to check in Emily as soon as she had left the room, Pam in tow with her. But once they saw the state Emily was in, Pam knew that it was best to leave Emily alone for a while. "We have to talk about this."

"Ali, I don't know what you want me to say." The brunette replied, her voice distant. Their eyes finally met, but it wasn't their normal steamy, or loving gaze. Emily's eyes were filled with desperation. Her eyes bloodshot, they were empty. They weren't even Emily's eyes. 

"Can't we discuss this?" Alison walked into the room, sitting on the olive green arm chair in the corner of the room. "It's a really good offer Em." Alison said, not looking in Emily's direction. Her thumb ran across the thread seems of the chair's arm. "I'd have my own research facility, and they would pay me almost double of what I make now." 

"Is this something you really want to do Ali?" Emily's voice was hoarse and broken. 

"Yes. I'm really excited about this opportunity, babe." 

"You want to leave Rosewood behind? You want to leave this house, that we dreamt of together? You want to leave Spencer behind?" She paused, her hands starting to shake again, the tears falling down her face quickly. "You want to leave me behind?" She choked out. 

"What?" Her head snapped up to meet Emily's gaze. "No, no. We would both move out there. You can work with your mom, or-"

"Ali, I can't leave. I just accepted the captain position." Emily broke all hope that Alison had. 

"Okay, okay, we can do long distance. We can visit each other once a month. Technology these days is-"

"Alison. Think like a rational human being for-"

"Do you not want me to achieve all these goals, Emily?" She asked, the venom seeping through her sharp teeth. "My lifelong dream has been to help people, and make a difference in the world. You're suppose to fucking support me, and be there for me. But it doesn't sound like you are, at all." 

"What?" Emily shouted back. "All I was going to say, is that you need me at the end of hard days, and I need you." Emily shook her head, the palm of her rubbing her forehead. "Of course I fucking support you. Are you kidding me? I'm proud of you, I'm so proud of you. But you're already doing that here, you're changing the way surgery is preformed. Why do you need to go to LA to do this?" 

"All the big dogs are out west." She couldn't keep her fiery gaze off of the brunette. "With my own research facility, I can develop more changes, and implement new ideas into surgery." Her tone hard and her voice roaring. She took a moment to catch her breath, because they never did this. They never yelled, or fought like this. "Emily, I know we can make this work, between us. You're being selfish." 

"I'm being selfish?" The sweet tone Alison had used to try to diffuse the situation, had not worked. Emily exploded. The inner turmoil that had been boiling ever since Alison had announced her job offer had finally made its way to the surface. "You're asking me to give up my only two friends. You're asking me to give up a job, and go backwards in my career. That's not fair Alison." Emily huffed, her face hot, her hands balled into fists as her nails dug into the palm of her hand. 

"And I'm sorry, that I physically want to be there to see you at home. I don't want a relationship over fucking FaceTime. I don't want one weekend with you every month, Alison." Emily slammed her palms down onto the table. "Sorry for being so selfish." Emily stood, her heart hammering against her ribs. 

"Where are you going? We need to figure this out Emily. We can't leave off like this." Alison frantically rambled her voice still booming. She followed Emily up to their bedroom, watching as the brunette grabbed a change of clothes from her dresser. 

"I'm going to bed, I have an early morning. I'll be in a guest bedroom." She quietly muttered a goodnight to Alison before she clicked the door shut. 

Alison hadn't been able to fall asleep. She was far too upset over their fight. It was close to midnight, Alison's eyes were burning. Both from sleep and the amount she had been crying. She peeled back the covers and sauntered into each guest room, until she found the sleeping brunette. 

She slipped underneath the covers, and nestled her way next to her fiancé. She rested her head on Emily's shoulder, and her arm settled on the middle of her chest. She stayed with her for what felt like four hours, but in reality it was only just over a half hour. She traced a line with her thumb down Emily's neck, pecking the sleeping girl's lips before she had made her way back to their bedroom. 

She knew that they had to fix this tomorrow. She wanted nothing more than to take on a new position out West. She wanted her dream to come true. A couple years ago, she would've packed her bags and left. But now, she was torn, almost directly in half. No matter what, they had to talk things through, because they never yelled at each other, they never got mad, and they never swore at each other.


	27. Chapter 27

"Good morning, my beautiful wife." The brunette smiled at the words. She still couldn't hear it enough. 

"Good morning. How's your morning so far, you been busy?" The brunette asked, wondering why she was already getting a call, when they only parted ways this morning an hour or so ago. 

"It's off to a weird start. Which is kind of why I called you. Do you know if anything is wrong with Emily?" Toby asked, his hand rubbing at the base of his neck while he peered into his bosses office. Emily was mindlessly staring at something on her desk. Her office door that was usually always, opened was shut. Sealed, like she wanted to be closed off forever. 

"No, why?" Spencer set her cup of coffee down and reached for a patient's chart. 

"Well it's Saturday, I mean usually we do this on Friday's since she doesn't work weekends anymore," Spencer couldn't help but smile hard at her husband, "we usually eat breakfast together though." Toby would come in with two fresh donuts, baked in the morning from Dena's Bakery that resided a block from the station. He'd always try a new flavor, or something that one of the workers had suggested, but he'd always get Emily a traditional chocolate covered donut. 

They'd sit in the break room, and go over their Sunday opponent in their football league while enjoying the fresh donuts, a coffee, and an apple juice for Emily. But this morning, Emily hadn't met him like they had planned on. Instead, she headed straight to her office and stayed locked away. 

"Well maybe she's just a bit upset she has to work today. I mean, isn't it her first weekend shift in a while?" When Emily went to the bathroom this morning, Toby quickly snuck in her office to set her designated donut on her desk. It still sat, completely untouched. 

"Can you please just ask Ali if something is wrong?" He knew that the brunette wasn't upset that she had to work. He knew that she actually enjoyed her work. 

"Yeah, I see her right now. I can ask her." Spencer had spotted the back of her blonde head. She was at the nurses station, probably checking in on a patient or two of hers. Spencer slipped the chart back into its designated slot by her patient's door. Alison had turned around, her eyes landing upon Spencer's. "Fuck." Spencer whispered. 

"What?" For some reason, Toby's heart dropped. Spencer had totally forgotten he was even on the line. 

She'd seen it as soon as Ali turned around. The tell-tale sign of a long night, and not the good kind. Her eyes still had a red tint to them. Like they had been varnished with a red cherry finish. Alison's eyes weren't vibrant like they normally were. No. Instead they were lost, empty. Her eyes had abandoned her, left her stranded in the middle of the humid desert to fend for herself. 

The wolves were not kind to Alison last night. They had circled her for hours. The wolves made a mockery out of her. She sat, frozen, her body trembling, waiting for them to strike. But the attack never came. 

"Look, I'll talk to her and I'll let you know right away. Okay? I love you, bye." Spencer hung up, leaving a baffled Toby on the other end of the now dead line.

Spencer made a beeline for the blonde. She had gripped the blonde's bicep, spinning her around so that they were face to face. Alison's eyes were more vacant up close. 

"Spencer, I have a consult. I need to-"

"Nonsense." Spencer used her free hand to access her pager. It took Spencer all of one minute before her attention was back to the clearly distraught blonde. "You, are now free for a fifteen minute break." Spencer held up her pager, shaking it emphatically before it was shoved back into her white coat pocket, and she was dragging Alison into the attending lounge. 

"What's going on?" Spencer asked, the concern evident in her voice. She had never seen Alison look this shaken up over anything in the entire time she has known her. In fact, every staff member had wanted to ask Alison if everything was okay, but out of courtesy, they hadn't. 

Toby had kept his head down all day. He kept his eyes trained on Emily. The brunette had left for two hours during lunchtime. Emily rarely left during lunch, and if she did, it was no longer than forty-five minutes. He anxiously tapped his pen on his desk while he looked over her shoulder, and into Emily's office. The donut was still sitting on the corner of her desk, unscathed. 

It was nearing eight o'clock, both top officers never stayed this late unless they were working on a high profile case. Toby wasn't leaving until Emily did. Spencer had never gotten back to him, so he needed to catch his boss on her way out the door.

"Excuse me sir?" The soft voice floated through the near empty room. Most officers were out patrolling at this time of night, with the exception of Dallas and Stephanie. "I have a delivery for-"

"That's for me." He hadn't taken his eyes off his friend's office. He slid his hand forward, paying the kind woman for the food. "Keep the change." Quickly he grabbed the box and headed for Emily's door.

He tapped the door three times with his knuckles, not giving her the chance to speak before he slowly pushed the door open. "Emily?" The brunette looked up, meeting Toby's gaze before she peered back down at the papers on her desk. 

"Go home Toby." For the first time tonight, her saw Emily's pen scribble something on the paper. "It's already near eight o'clock. Spencer will be wondering where you are."

He took three strides over to her desk, letting the pizza box fall with a dull thud. He had a hard enough time getting Spencer to talk to him sometimes. Usually all he had to do was sweeten her up a bit, and then she'd finally come talk to him. But Emily wasn't that type of person, and he knew that. The donut didn't work, the time didn't work, the pizza wasn't even working now. And the brunette couldn't resist a good pie. 

"Em," he pleaded, his voice stern but still showing some sympathy towards her "please, just talk to me. I have watched whatever is bothering you, eat at you all day." In fact, it scared him even more. Emily's mood, mixed with Spencer's lack of communication, didn't sit well with him. 

"Toby." She dropped her pen onto her desk, her fingers instantly rubbing soothing circles into her temple. She let out a deep sigh, before she lifted her head and connected her glossed over brown eyes with Toby's sympathetic blue ones. "You can't help me." 

"Just talk to me. Who knows, maybe I can help even in the smallest of ways." He motioned towards the pizza box on her desk, hoping that it would be the nail in the coffin of Emily's stubbornness. 

They had taken the fresh pie into the break room, away from the few officers in the building so they could talk more privately. After a couple of slices eaten in silence, Emily spilled her guts.

She told him about hers and Ali's fight last night. About how horrible she felt for swearing at her. For leaving the night off, the way that she did. For sleeping in the guest room. For muttering all those mean words about Alison before she fell asleep. For ruining their dinner. For acting that way in front of her parents; in front of Alison's parents. 

She told him about her extended lunch. How she went to talk to her parents before they boarded a plane and left again. She needed their opinions. Her parents were a little disappointed with Emily and how she acted last night. They figured she could've waited until Emily and Alison were alone. But Emily countered. How could she mislead everyone? How could she standby, and lie to her family as well as Alison's that she was ecstatic about the possibility of leaving Rosewood? How could she refrain from telling them that she couldn't leave?

"Just do what you believe is right." 

Her parents had told her the same damn thing earlier.

Their conversation drifted away from girl drama. Amidst Emily's drama, Toby had shared a couple of his own disheartening moments with Spencer so early on in their married life. 

Meanwhile, Alison was at home. Her feet almost creating a permanent path on the cherry wood floors in their living room. She had anticipated that Emily would be home just under a half hour after she had arrived home herself. But now that it was nearing ten o'clock, she was beyond worried. She had tried calling her multiple times, to no avail. Her texts were left unanswered.

Her mind kept swirling on the possibilities of Emily's whereabouts. Had she drove off a cliff and drown? Had she been called to a scene? Did she coerce her parents to stay longer and she was visiting them? Had she already packed her things and left her? 

At the thought, she had run upstairs to check their bedroom. She didn't peg Emily as the type not to say goodbye, but for the two of them, last night was pretty heated. She hadn't pegged Emily to burst out like she did either. So, crazier things could happen. 

By the time she had made it to their doorway, she heard the front door close. She took a second to peer into the open bedroom door. She saw the picture of Emily and her parents on the brunette's nightstand. Emily looked like a young teen, the Fields family were beaming brightly. Sometimes she would catch Emily staring at the picture. She had never asked her what significance it held, but she knew. She knew by the way Emily ogled. That day, with her parents, meant the world to her. She knew that Emily would never leave without it. 

Alison sharply turned on her heels, hoping that it would finally be the person she needed to see. She barreled down the stairs faster than she had climbed them, letting out a sigh of relief to see that it was in fact Emily who had entered the house. Her cheeks faintly flushed, as they often did any time she saw Emily in her full uniform. Their eyes connected, their iris' dancing to meet each others eye. 

Alison noticed the change in Emily's eyes. Usually her eyes held every little emotion that she felt. She could tell when the brunette was in distress. She could tell when Emily was excited. She could tell when she was happy, sad, tired; her eyes were literally the window to her soul. But now, here, tonight, the windows were tainted black. She couldn't see through them. 

She couldn't read Emily's eyes; she couldn't see her precious soul. She couldn't tell what Emily was thinking. And most importantly, she couldn't tell what Emily needed.

In seconds she was in the air, being rushed back up to their room. Her legs automatically wrapped around Emily's waist. Her heartbeat quickening, she felt herself building in anticipation. Emily's lips were already attacking her neck, aggressively. She should've known better. She should've known to stop now; to talk. To sort this mess out, but Emily was turning her on, and she couldn't stop her; she didn't want Emily to stop. 

Her mind was too clouded by her own pleasure. Her mind was racing, her pulse quickening even more, her core seeming to yearn for the brunette even more. It was always one of her fantasies to have Emily defile her in whatever way she pleased, while she was in uniform. Her skin was on fire.

Before she could even register that she was naked, her back was against the soft mattress, and Emily was on top of her again. Emily's touch made her tremble, her nimble finger trailed up and down her side. The brunette's other hand was relishing in the wetness she herself had created. Her finger plunged deep into Alison's tight, hot, core. Her mouth, leaving a trail of deep purple marks along her pale skin. Alison finally moved, carefully unbuttoning Emily's uniform as fast as she could while Emily rubbed their intimate areas together. She couldn't help herself, she couldn't resist. She wanted Alison now.

The blonde's nails dug into Emily's lower back, encouraging the brunette to continue her current movements. Emily quickly pulled away from the blonde, skillfully shedding both her compression boxers and her pants. The only that was left between their naked bodies from making contact with each other was Emily's sports bra. Alison quickly rushed to take the last bit of clothing off Emily's perfectly sculpted body. 

Emily flipped them over, settling Alison on top of her. There was no anticipation. There was no teasing. It was desperate, needy, and passionate. Loud moans, and the noises of wet kisses filled the room. 

Emily let out a strangled cry, the pure pleasure she felt the first moment she entered Alison was amazing. The blonde's head fell to Emily's shoulder, a loud cry of her own filling the room. The tantalizingly slow pace that Emily eased Alison into, was long forgotten. Her strokes were quick, and rough. 

Her hips met Alison's in a rhythm. The blonde could do nothing but moan out obscurities. The brunette underneath her was hitting every single point that drove Alison crazy, from inside her core, to her neck, and just the feeling of Emily's hands roaming her body so delicately, it always sent her over the edge way faster than she would like to admit. 

Emily's mouth was practically latched onto Alison's chest like she was a sea lamprey. She left darker and darker purple marks along Alison's perky breasts, her tongue occasionally drawing a line up to the sensitive spot on her neck. "Fuck." Alison whined, although it came out in two labored breaths.

"God baby." Emily felt herself building to her peak. Her lips parted against Alison's skin, her hot breath hitting the pale skin in quick puffs. 

"Oh shit." Alison was practically screaming and Emily knew it would only be a moment longer before she let go. She willed her hips to buck into Alison even faster. "Emily!" The blonde felt herself start to tremble, and moans of the intense wave she felt, fueled Emily even more.

Emily hadn't even let her ride out her high. She slipped underneath the trembling girl's center. Her tongue danced quick circles around Alison's bundle of nerves. "Jesus, Em." The blonde squirmed above her, she was already extremely sensitive. 

Emily hummed, her own orgasm still building. By the time she was almost at the point-of-no-return of her own, she had already brought Alison to another high. Alison popped Emily's erect member into her mouth, returning the favor to her fiancé. "Shit." Emily took in a sharp breath, her hips jolting upwards at the pleasure that coursed through her body. Alison's warm and soft tongue rolled over the tip of Emily's twitching member. "I'm gonna cum." She moaned, her breaths becoming quick and heavy. Sure enough, Alison felt spurts of warm liquid hitting her tongue. 

Now laying side by side, they were both staring at one another. The room completely silent, neither saying a single word. Because both of them knew that once they started talking, they would ruin the bubble they currently were in. Although, both of their reasons were on different ends of the spectrum. 

Emily's index finger found Alison's tattoo, like she always had loved to do, she started tracing an oval around the letters. She kept her eye contact with those mesmerizing blue orbs she loved so much. Alison's palm rested on the brunette's strong jaw, her fingertips just reaching the side of her neck. Her fingers played with the few hands of baby hairs on the base of the brunette's warm neck.

Alison could see Emily's eyes return to their normal state. She saw the love spill from Emily's eyes. But soon that love was clouded over by a plethora of emotions; so many that Alison couldn't exactly tell which one needed to be addressed first. Emily's hand slid up to her neck, almost mimicking how Alison's hand was. The brunette ran her thumb across Alison's bruised lips, and along her jaw. A strong tear slid down Emily's cheek, and the blonde could see that her girl was still trying to hold it together. 

"What's the matter babe?" Her fingers stopped twirling the baby hairs, her hand now firmly cupping the back of Emily's neck for a form of support and strength.

"Ali, you have to go." Her voice came out as a broken, hoarse, whisper. 

"Excuse me?" Alison had heard the brunette clearly, she just didn't want to believe what she had said. She had hoped that she just misheard her fiancé. 

"Go to LA. One day, you'll ask yourself 'what if I had gone?' and you might resent me later." Ali opened her mouth to rebut Emily's statement, but Emily placed her finger over the blonde's mouth. "I know Ali. I ask myself everyday what if questions. This opportunity could change your life, it will give you your dream. It was meant to happen." 

"But Em, I don't want to lose you." She still wasn't decided; she was still torn on what she should do. And she felt a little relief. Because now she didn't have to decide. She didn't have to crush Emily, or crush her dreams and the people awaiting her arrival in Los Angeles. Emily had already made the decision for her. 

"You'll always have a part of me baby." The never ending path of tears on Emily's cheeks were evidence that her heart was indeed, broken. Now she felt an intense wave of guilt flood over her. She never should've never insisted on buying Emily dinner. She caused this whole mess. She told herself she needed to wait until she was finally settled into a hospital she desired, before she could start her love life.

Now, she created a chain of hurt. She hurt her own family. They loved Emily, dearly. She hurt Emily's parents. They were so relieved, and gracious, that someone had treated their daughter with nothing but respect and love. She hurt Spencer and Toby. She hurt herself, because she was so damn attached to Emily. But she hurt the kindest human being on Earth the most. Emily loved her with everything she had in her. 

"Don't. Don't feel like this is your fault. I was selfish enough to keep you in Rosewood in the first place. And I was extremely selfish tonight." Emily always saw right through her. 

"I didn't stop you either." She ducked her head the tiniest bit. 

"Look, I just want you to promise me that you'll be happy. Find someone who will give you everything you deserve; everything that I haven't been able to give you." Sometimes Alison wonder how Emily was so blind. The blonde couldn't imagine any better. 

"You gave me everything a girl could ask for, and that much more." Alison choked on a sob. "I love you Emily." 

Emily smiled, it was weak, but it was all she could muster up. For once in her life, she knew that someone finally loved her back. She was sure of that everyday she spent with her girl. And that was all she really needed to feel at peace with her life. She gave the blonde a small nod, tucking a strand of her disheveled blonde locks behind her ear. She rested her forehead against Alison's, "I love you, Alison Lauren." 

Emily opened her eyes, memorizing the flecks of yellow in Alison's blue eyes. She memorized the smile, and they was Alison's nose scrunched just the tiniest bit when she told Ali that she loved her. She took a last breath through her nose. Memorizing the sweet, tropical scent Alison had to her. She memorized every detail she loved about her girl, because it could be the last she ever got a snippet of her own happiness.

Reluctantly, she peeled herself away. Throwing some sweats and a T-shirt on from her drawer, she was ready to walk away from the love of her life. But not mentally; mentally, she was not even close. Hearing Alison break, like she was now, almost broke Emily beyond repair too. 

Emily walked to the doorway, taking one last look at Alison. She had already packed her overnight bag during her extended lunch, and decided she would come back tomorrow to collect the rest of her things, while Alison was at work. 

"See you later." She whispered, shutting the door on the girl and both of their broken hearts.

"I thought you said Emily was coming over?" Spencer rounded the couch, bringing a bowl of popcorn with her. Their movie had been paused for over twenty minutes; the moment Emily had texted Toby with:

'Hey. Do you think it could crash on your couch tonight? If not, I'll figure something out.'

Spencer immediately went on a cleaning tirade, even though the household was practically spotless. He replied immediately, not really needing a confirmation from his newlywed. Neither would let their friend have to find a different place to stay for the night. 

"She said she was coming." Toby shrugged. There could be many explanations as to why Emily wasn't at their doorstep ten minutes ago. 

Spencer stared at Toby, watching as he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. She wondered how he could be so clueless. She sighed dramatically, making him whip his head towards her, a piece of popcorn flew from his mouth and hit Spencer in the neck. 

Had it been for different circumstances, she would've laughed. Instead, she palmed the popcorn kernel and set it on the black coffee table at their feet. "You realize, that this doesn't look good."

"Relax man," Toby mumbled through his mouthful of popcorn, "she'll be here soon." He turned his attention back to his phone, that was sitting on his lap, another fistful of popcorn in his hand. 

"Ugh. No, you meathead." Spencer hit Toby's biceps with the back of her hand playfully. "Things didn't go well when she went home tonight. That's why she's coming here." 

Spencer had been worried since she saw Alison at work. She didn't know where to stand. Should she be on Alison's side, or Emily's. But she did understand both sides. Now that Emily was coming here, to her house this late at night, made her worries disappear. Instead, it transformed into panic. 

Emily showed up on their doorstep ten minutes later. Spencer had asked if she needed anything, or wanted anything to eat or drink. Of course, Emily declined, saying it was too late for Spencer to be up and worrying about her. But, Spencer knew that this was far more important than sleep. 

"Why would you do that? Why didn't you beg her to stay?" Spencer couldn't understand how easily she let Alison go. The Cavanaugh duo had plopped Emily in a chair, and gently pried her for answers. 

"I can't hold her back. I already influenced her to stay once." Emily played with her fingers from her spot on the chair, that was directly in front of the couch, where Toby and Spencer sat. 

"Okay, but you love her. She loves you." Spencer stated matter of factly. "You should be able to figure it out." 

"I'm not asking her to give up her dream." Her insides trembled, but she kept her exterior cool, calm, and collected. "Nobody deserves to be shot down like that. She deserves the support to chase her dream."

"Maybe not." Toby interjected. He could see how much it hurt Emily inside to let Alison walk away. To let her follow her fairytale path. "But your feelings matter too. Your dreams matter. You have to compromise." Toby searched for his wife's hand, glancing at her while their fingers laced together. "Do you think Spencer wanted to settle here?"

"I didn't." She butted in flatly.

Emily was silent for a moment, eyes trained on her. "We all wander." She spoke quietly, but both Spencer and Toby could hear the hint of hope in her voice. "But at some point in our journey, we return home. I'm hoping that I am home for her."

"You told her to be happy, to find someone who makes her happy?" Spencer asked after a few moments of silence. She didn't understand why Emily told her that, if she wanted Alison to return home later on. "What if she does? What if she meets someone and gets married? What if she never comes back?"

"It'll hurt." She replied, but in her heart she knew it would demolish her. It was already crushing her. "It'll tear me in half. Because this, out of everything I've done in my life thus far, this is the hardest thing I've ever done; walking away from someone I love." It was apparent how hard this was for Emily. The true emotion dripped from her voice like a rusty faucet that never truly turned off.

"But if I never get her back, if I've lost her forever, I'll have amazing memories to look back on. It'll be the one chapter of my life that I keep re-reading. Not many people are lucky enough to experience real love, and even fewer are lucky enough to meet their soul mate. I was one of the few that did. I enjoyed every second I spent with her, whether she was yelling at me or we were having the time of our lives, we were together. We were happy." She smiled sadly, the tears finally fell down her rosy cheeks silently. "Those are moments that will continue to live on with me." Alison ignited this new spark inside of the brunette. Unfortunately, she could already feel it flickering to it's final glow. "In the end, if she's happy, I'll be okay. That's all that matter to me."

"Toby." She ran her hand through his wild bed head hair. "Breakfast is ready." She kissed the corner of his lips before his eyes fluttered open. "Will you go get Emily up?" 

He rubbed at his eyes with the back of his knuckles. "Can't you get her up on the way down?" He grumbled. 

"I don't want to see anything." She admitted, her fingers still running through his hair, slightly fixing it in the process. 

"Okay." He shook his head, accepting that it made sense. "Okay, I'm going." 

Spencer had already her portion of breakfast. She ate while she cooked, which was something she did during breakfast quite frequently. She had sent a text to Alison last night, just letting her know that Emily was staying the night at their house. She wasn't picking sides, because this wasn't a situation where Toby and herself needed to chose sides. It wasn't a situation where they could choose sides, even if they needed too. 

She had called their boss in the morning, just to see what kind of work load Alison was looking at for the day. Fortunately for the blonde's sake, she didn't have a big workload. Instead of multiple surgeries a day, her final days would consist of paper work necessary to transfer patients to fellow doctors and surgeons in the hospital, paperwork that were referrals for other surgeons and doctors in the surrounding area, and her transfer paper work. She probably had about three to four day's worth of paper work to fill out before she could leave Rosewood's hospital.

Spencer had brought with her some of the breakfast she made. Although it was her day off, she still went to the hospital. She had found the conference room Ali was working in, alone, and brought the blonde food and someone to talk to. She immediately saw the drawn back expression she wore. It was even worse than yesterday was. Maybe it was because she didn't attempt to hide her misery today. Maybe she didn't have the energy to hide it.

"Here, take a break." Spencer slipped into the room, making sure she switched the blinds for privacy.

They sat in silence for a long time. Spencer played with a piece of frayed paper, crumpling it into a ball to occupy herself. The silence spoke volumes. Spencer was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She saw first hand how torn both Emily and Alison were, and it was sickening. Emily usually kept herself put together, and she fell apart last night. Meanwhile, Alison expressed every ounce of emotion that she felt. At this moment, Alison was past the point of crumbling. 

She wasn't jagged like a broken cookie. Instead, she was cracked open like the Grand Canyon. There was nothing left to her besides her shell. She was empty.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She finally broke the silence they held. She knew that Alison wasn't okay, so there was no point in asking. Everyone in the hospital knew that she wasn't okay. She was looking, well rough, for the past two days now. Her finger was bare of her engagement ring and the entire hospital knew of her leaving.

"I didn't want to decide." She rubbed at her finger. It already felt weird having the ring off of her finger, and she only took it off hours ago. "I couldn't decide. And I ruined her in the process."

"She's hurt, but she wants what's best for you. She's still looking out for your best interests, you haven't ruined a damn thing." Spencer didn't want Ali to suffocate herself in guilt, because then it would all be for nothing. She would never be happy if she lived with her guilt for the rest of her life. "How about I come over tonight and we can watch movies and eat ice cream?"

"Aren't you going to Toby's game?"

"He'll understand." She smiled. Both Toby and Spencer knew that they would need to keep tabs on their best friends. 

And that's exactly what Toby's mission for the day was. 

He hopped into Emily's truck, and rode to the beautiful house. Emily's eyes were glistening at the site of her once dream home that she and Alison had occupied together. She insisted on going alone mostly because it would be a waste to have Toby come along. She didn't have much that needed to be hauled. In fact, all she really needed was her clothes and the entirety of her painting room.

Of course there were small things, like the Shun kitchen knife set she bought for Alison one Christmas. But she didn't want those, she really only wanted the essentials. She made her way to the bedroom, seeing that the bed was still a ruffled mess. Emily usually made their bed before she left for work in the morning. She didn't miss the black mascara stains on her pillow. She didn't miss the picture of the two of them that sat on Alison's night stand, was now laying in the middle of her pillow. 

"What do you need me to grab?" Toby had seen Emily freeze, her eyes glued to the bed. He noticed exactly what Emily was staring at. He thought the best thing he could do was to get Emily out of here as fast as possible. 

She told him to pack all of her painting utensils from downstairs, while she collected everything she needed from the bedroom. She had pulled out her suitcase from the back left corner of the closet and stuffed it full of clothes, her bathroom essentials, and the few picture frames that were hers in the bedroom. 

She stopped at the kitchen island feeling a flash of memories cloud her brain; like she was in a movie and she was watching Alison and herself get in food fights, eat romantic dinners at the table, and burn food together. Her eyes spotted a piece of paper with Alison's curly writing on it. The memories stopped, she dropped the bag, and subconsciously walked to the island. Her palms were starting to sweat. 

Toby had walked back in the house, he saw Emily standing at the Island. He saw the tears in her eyes, and decided he would take the suitcase that was in the middle of the floor and he would leave her until she was ready to leave. 

'You changed my life for the better. You gave me another reason to enjoy life, besides surgery. You're fucking special, and don't let anyone treat you differently. No matter what, you'll always be my best friend.

I wish you well on your next adventure

I love you, Em.'

Emily picked up the ring she proposed to Alison with, just days ago. She folded the paper in quarters and stuffed it into her pocket along with the ring. She pulled her house key off of her set of keys, and set it on the counter. She plucked a pink sticky note from the stack underneath the microwave and left one single word for Alison. 

'Always'

She slowly walked to the door, her feet dragging along the wood. She never thought that she would feel like this. She never thought she'd experience this kind of sadness with Alison. But she was. But it was worth it, because the good times felt better than now. Emily took one last glance into the house she had designed for Alison and herself before she closed the French entryway door on the last time she would be a resident in the home; and potentially, forever.


	28. Chapter 28

So many things had changed since Alison left eight months ago.

Spencer found work to be not as fun. Of course she loved her job, but Ali made the slow times fun. The days where they were stuck in meetings, or had training sessions. She missed their coffee and lunch together. And she wasn't the only one in the hospital who missed Alison.

Spencer made it her mission to continue with their Tuesday night gossip sessions. Of course, it had to be done over the phone, but it was much needed for both of them. It was very therapeutic for Spencer, because she needed to vent to someone about Toby, and sometimes, Emily just didn't cut it.

But, one day Alison had let it slip that she was in a relationship with a guy she had met at the local coffee shop. Spencer felt both happy and sad when she heard the news. Alison seemed really happy, so of course, that made Spencer happy. If her best friend was happy, then so was she. But she was sad for Emily. She was sad because she knew that Alison and Emily belonged together. Alison watered Emily everyday and eventually Emily bloomed into the beautifulest rose she was always destined to be. Em just needed careful attention. Emily kept Alison in check. She was patient with Alison, and brought out a side that to her that Spencer had never seen.

Toby was basically over at Emily's new apartment at least a couple times a week. She had gotten a nicer place than she had previously owned, which both her and Toby were thankful for. Toby never understood how she lived in such a confined area when he went to Emily's apartment the day she was shot. Toby did enjoy visiting with Emily, even though she had somewhat closed him off during work, their days spent hanging out together were fairly normal. Toby always kept a pack of beer in her fridge. Spencer was on a new health kick at the moment and she'd only let him drink lite beer, which did not sit too well with her counterpart.

Emily. God, Emily was silently falling apart. Her parents were always checking up on her. Alison's parents were checking in on her from time to time. Spencer and Toby were driving her crazy with how often they coddled her. It was like they were her parents too. Every day was a struggle for her to wake up, to roll out of bed, and make it to work on time, let alone at all. She still expected to wake up smelling the blonde's tropical scent, and on special occasions, she still expected to wake up holding that perfect small frame. With everyone asking how she was doing, she couldn't fully comprehend how she actually felt.

She preferred to be alone. But, Toby wasn't near the worst company she's ever endured. She thought, somehow, Toby sensed that she didn't want to talk. Normally, he'd grab a beer, and they'd watch any form of football they could find on Emily's little television. The dark haired girl figured Spencer was pushing Toby to constantly visit her.

It was a slow day for Emily. Really, there was barely any paper work to be done. Which was a good thing, because that was her least favorite part of the job. It took time away from her making the community of Rosewood better. She had implemented a new rule for herself, if she felt like going out for a patrol or if she wanted to head to a scene, she did. All of the previous chiefs typically only went to the big cases. Where it was necessary for them to be at. But Emily was ticketing folks who were speeding, or she was even at some noise complaint scenes.

Honestly, it helped her run her department better. She saw her officers on the scene, in real time. She saw first hand what their strengths were, and what they needed to work on. She saw what people worked best together. She had seen some violations that led to relief of duty for some. But, she knew the type of people she was looking to hire.

Today was one of those days where she went out for a cruise in the unmarked car. She kept her eyes peeled for anything suspicious, any drivers that were driving distractedly, or anything that seemed out of the ordinary.

It was always therapeutic for her. Her mind felt like it could run free, she wasn't cooped up in her office, with everyone in the department trying to get on her good side. She loved getting a bit of relief. Because she didn't feel any sort of relief on a daily basis. Not in a long time, anyway.

It didn't entirely help ease her mind though. The white, puffy clouds were stained with dark wisps that turned the sky angry. It actually didn't help at all. Because that's how she felt all the time. She was angry, sad, scared. Some nights Emily would listen to the rain beat at the roof of her apartment. The sky was releasing, and Emily was drowning along with the roads of Rosewood.

Spencer had extended an invitation out to Emily for a dinner the weekend that Alison boarded a plane and left Rosewood. Spencer was worried for Emily, especially within the first few days of the blonde up and leaving. She had seen how upset Emily was the night she stayed over, but the very next day, she was out and moved into her own apartment.

Spencer planned a fancy dinner. In hopes that it would take Emily's mind off of the blonde.

There was no way to know it, but Emily was thinking about her the moment she crossed the threshold of the newlywed's house for dinner. She felt foreign, especially in this house, without the presence of her girl.

Spencer had noticed that something was up when they all sat down to eat. The guest of honor, so to speak, was silent. She was picking at her plate, nibbling on bits of food. Steak and mashed potatoes were one of Emily's favorite dishes, so she knew that the only thing that could be wrong, was Alison.

The expression on Emily's face only confirmed it. Her eyes were droopy, and her nose twitched every minute or so. Her head was ducked, as if she was afraid that Toby or Spencer could see right through her facade. The silence and tension in the room was unnerving.

"Why did you let her go?" Spencer broke the silence, her fork clinking down on her plate. Her eyes were soft towards the brunette.

Emily felt like she was struck in the chest. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't think. Her mouth moved, but not a single coherent thought made it past the girl's tongue. She swallowed a mouthful of water, letting her mind come up with the right words to say. "Because I didn't want her to choose to leave."

To have the love of her life choose, well, not her....she wouldn't be able to handle the pain of it all.

Meanwhile on the opposite coast, Alison was just returning home from her work day. The sun was just starting to set, which Alison was thankful for. She still hasn't acclimated to the California sun.

She poured herself a heavy glass of red wine, and sat down on the window seat. Her phone kept buzzing on the side table next to the couch, but it went unanswered. She knew who it was and she really didn't want to talk at the moment. The thoughts that kept swirling her brain, would only ruin today; would only ruin their day.

She had been thinking of home a lot recently. She missed being near her parents dearly. She missed weekly visits; weekly dinner with them. She missed Spencer. She missed the witty comebacks Spencer threw her way in conversations. She'd been so busy with work lately, that she hasn't really had time to connect with those people in her life that she really needed.

She had met Aaron at the small coffee shop the first week she moved here. Things started out as friend dates and then it turned into the first official date. Date one turned into date two, and date two continued to date three. They had been officially together for a little over four months now.

Alison's parents were conflicted; just as Spencer was. Aaron was a nice guy, by all standards, but Jessica and Kenneth put Emily on a different pedestal. If Aaron loved Alison half as much as Emily did, then they knew their daughter was in good hands.

Her parents still talked to Pam and Wayne, fairly often. Their topic choices never stayed on their respective daughters too long. Pam and Wayne knew that Alison was doing well, she was liking her new job, and she was in a new relationship. Jess and Ken didn't have to be told that Emily was taking things pretty hard. They knew things would be even harder if she knew Alison was seeing someone new too.

Everyone who knew of Alison's new relationship, failed to disclose the information to Emily. But how could they? They knew that Emily swept things under the rug. They could smell the must from the dirty, worn out rug. They could see the mountains and valleys within the rug. It was battered and bruised, just like its owner.

This, one, final elongated stroke of the bristled broom, would destroy her beyond repair. She was barely staying afloat as it is, but without the hope of Alison ever coming back, there would be no reason to float anymore.

Spencer and Toby had invited Emily over on the gloomy Monday they were all having. The skies were still roaring with rage, and the downpour violently splashing on the concrete. Spencer had been home and cooking all of ten minutes before she received a text from Emily:

'Not feeling well. I'll make it up to you guys, I promise.'

Spencer threw her phone, a little harshly, onto the kitchen counter. She made sure the pasta was boiling safely in the pot before she wandered into the living room to sit with Toby.

"Please tell me you're just as concerned about Emily as I am." Spencer had been worried about her as of late. She could see the drop off in Emily's mood.

"I'm always a little concerned about her but-

"Tobs, she canceled on us. Twice. She didn't go to your guys' football game because she twisted her ankle on a scene." She air quoted. "You know she'd play through anything, and you know that better than anyone. And it has been raining all week, that doesn't help a girl's mood. Trust me, I would know."

"Some days are tougher than others. And one rough day can lead into a rough week, and even to a rough year." He sighed. He could imagine how much pain his best friend was in, and it hurt him almost as much. She wouldn't let him help, she wouldn't let anyone help her alleviate some of her pain. "She lost the undoubted love of her life, Spence. Just imagine how sad you are that you've lost your bestie, and multiply that by a million."

"I suppose." She ran a hand through her hair, her head falling to Toby's shoulder. "Keep an eye on her at work? You know, make sure she's doing okay." She felt it was her responsibility to keep an eye on the brunette. With Alison gone, and no parental guidance in her everyday life anymore, Spencer felt that responsibility fall upon herself. "Maybe you should try suggesting that she moves on. Maybe coming from both of us, it could spark something."

Spencer knew that she couldn't be overbearing with Emily, but she vowed to herself to keep a watchful eye on her. If something major happened, she would get ahold of Emily's parents and let them know that she really needed them. 

The following morning at work, Emily had ditched hers and Toby's morning routine once again. After he and Spencer enjoyed their evening in together, which they didn't get too often, he thought about how much his friend actually needed a pick me up.

Usually Emily was a bright face around the department. Her door was always open to visitors. But lately, she hasn't been herself. The entire department noticed it. If Toby couldn't reach her on the second day of her slump, then no one would be poking the angry bear anytime soon.

This time, he wasn't going to skirt around the edges and wait for Emily to come to him. He'd pry her for answers before he did anything else at work on this stormy morning.

He pushed his chair back, and made his way into Emily's office. "Hey." He closed the door behind him, only taking one step further into the room.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She set her pen down, finishing some paperwork she made from an arrest this morning.

"I wanted to know if you were okay. You've just been," he took another step forward and smoothly slid into the small leather chair centered in front of her desk "a bit down."

Emily held his gaze, a thick silence filling the room. She decided, maybe getting it out in the open would make it easier on her. Maybe Toby would be able to provide her with some relief too. "Not really, no." She skillfully spun the pen from her index finger down to her pinky. "I can't get her off my mind." She admitted, her eyes turning soft. "I miss her, Toby."

He had been wanting to ask Emily this question since Alison left, and so did Spencer. Before, he didn't want to upset Emily any more than she needed to be, but now, she needed to talk through things. "Then why didn't you fight for her? You let her go. You practically shoved her on a plane." His voice remained calm. The last thing his best friend needed was to be yelled at.

Emily took a deep breath. She felt her rage start to course through her veins. Most days, it's what fueled her. Her hands clenched into tightly knit fists. She rubbed her knuckles down her thighs. "Why does everyone make it seem like it was my fault? She didn't think twice about staying. I can't be the only one to fight. She left. What does that say about her? She didn't fight for me. And I can't figure out what feels worse: not having her here with me, or her not fighting for me."

The brunette made it home after another day at the office. Her apartment looked as if nobody was home. Ever since Alison had left, that's how her apartment seemed to the outsider. Like it was still vacant. The lights were rarely on, it was hard to have them on when the light in her life was also missing. There was never any noise emitted from her room; although she was the only apartment on her floor, her floor neighbors hadn't heard a peep from her.

She liked being the only apartment on the upmost floor. Her place was fairly spacious compared to the rest of the units in her complex. She didn't have any neighbors banging on her door to borrow some essential ingredient they needed to create their desired dish. She was sealed off; just like she felt from the world.

She didn't know what to do with herself after she got home from work most days. She carried on about her workday as normal as she could, her only slips being missing to meet with Toby in the mornings. At night, she let her mind takeover. She felt this crippling weight upon her, and she didn't even know the full extent of what she felt. Actually, she didn't know the half of it.

She couldn't handle Alison leaving, and now she didn't even know how to process the fact that Alison was in a relationship. Her mother had let it slip as she was rambling on the phone with her. Yet, she had pretended like she didn't hear it. Her mother would hound her everyday with questions. So, it was easier if everyone thought she was clueless. But she knew that everyone knew, Spencer had liked Alison's Facebook status of "In A Relationship" as did both of the girl's parents.

So, most days she found herself sitting on the end of the emergency ladder, listening to some sad and soft toned music while she stared out into the night. And that's exactly where she found herself tonight.

It didn't matter to her that it started sprinkling while she sat outside. She simply placed her phone on her open window's ledge, that way she could still feed her demons and keep her phone safe as well.

What else was she supposed to do? Thoughts of Alison ran through her mind on a loop. She was the epitome of a broken record. Her mind wouldn't stay off of the blonde, and it was slowly killing her.

She couldn't eat without the blonde. She couldn't finish a damn painting without her, let alone even starting one that was worth finishing. She couldn't watch television without her. She couldn't lay down at night, and not have that warmth next to her. Or that tropical smell. Or that blonde, wispy hair covering half of her own pillow. Or the faint snore that fell from her scrumptious lips.

She couldn't exist without her. How could Toby suggest that she move on? How could Spencer muster up the same thought? She was barely surviving as it was. But to replace her? Get rid of everything that reminded her of the blonde? Push the memories aside...forget about everything they shared...forget about it all. There was no choice; she couldn't.

How could she throw away the sweatshirt she bought for herself while her and Alison were out getting ice cream? The blonde had spilled her chocolate ice cream on her shirt, so Emily forked up her own sweatshirt for the blonde, seeing she wouldn't wear the sweatshirt Emily found at the nearest gas station that looked like a paper cup from the nineties.

Emily loved that sweater. It was warm, and it made her happy. Because it came with a fabulous memory of her and Alison. When fully moved out of the house she and Alison owned, she didn't take anything that they had bought together, or anything that she bought that blonde. The memories would be too much for her. Everything she already owned reminded her of Alison, and that was already taking over her life.

Her glass cups reminded her of Alison sipping orange juice having breakfast and laughing hard at something cheesy she had said.

So, instead of facing it all, instead of trying to move past it, she sat outside. The rain seemed nonexistent to her. It was pouring, but it didn't matter to her. She was lost in the city below and into the music that fueled her negative thoughts. Pam had tried persuading her daughter to go back to therapy, but ultimately, her discussions lead nowhere. Emily had been to therapy when she was younger, and the brunette didn't find it productive, or helpful.

The rain pounded the metal grate underneath the brunette's body. It made the metal even cooler, on this chilly evening. She was soaked, but it didn't matter to her. She didn't hear the knocking on her apartment door. She didn't hear her door open just roughly fifteen minutes later. No, her mind kept drifting it's focus between the sound of the rain and the music playing on her phone. And now, her mind was stuck on the music.

'So far away from where you are   
And standing underneath the stars  
And I wish you were here

I miss the years that were erased   
I miss the way the sunshine would light up your face  
I miss all the little things  
I never thought that they'd mean everything to me  
Yeah, I miss you and I wish you were here

I feel the beating of your heart  
I see the shadows of your face  
Just know that wherever you are   
Yeah, I miss you and I wish you were here'

It was her favorite song to listen too when she was in this mood. She knew the song so well, that she didn't even notice that her phone's speakers had gone silent. The music had stopped. Right before she started singing the chorus of the song, she heard her name being called. It was her voice. Then she heard it again, and she knew she wasn't just hearing things.

"Ali?" Emily whispered, her voice barely floating over the pounding rain; there was hope in her tone for the first time in months. She didn't want to turn around unless she was actually here; unless she was actually in her apartment, back home.

"What are you doing? Get out of the rain!"

It was real.

She was here. She was really here.

Emily turned her entire body and laid her eyes upon the gorgeous blonde who was leaning on her window sill.

Alison looked the same. Her beauty had only intensified. Emily naturally drifted toward her, she felt so helpless. She climbed back into her apartment through her old, beaten up window subconsciously. All her brain could muster up was that Alison was back.

"How did you get in?" Stupid. Why was that the first thing that came out of her mouth? Of course she had more important questions to ask.

"Lucky, your landlord was here tending to another one of his tenants. I convinced him I needed to get in here."

Alison let her eyes take in the appearance of the lean brunette. Her wet hair and clothes dripped, creating a couple small puddles next to her feet on the floor. She wasn't even shivering. Her eyes were cloudy, her left cheek had hints of an old bruise on it. It was a darker olive color. Had she not know Emily so well, she would've missed it.

"Did James hit you again?" Alison stepped forward, the pad of her thumb lightly brushing over the discolored skin.

Emily turned her cheek, effectively getting Alison's hand off of her. The blonde's touch sent waves through her body. Her scent drove her crazy. She couldn't get her hopes up for nothing. "What are you doing here, Ali?" She bit, and her bite took Alison by surprise.

"Em, look-"

"You left. You left me, Alison. You were off in California with your boyfriend, while I was here, hoping that you would magically show up on my doorstep." Emily finally met eyes with the blue eyed beauty to reveal an extension of how she felt. Her brown eyes were swamped to the brim with emotions, and tears pooled at the corners of them.

Alison knew she was being unrealistic thinking that Emily would be happy to see her again. Especially if she knew that she had been in a relationship with someone else. "I fucked up Emily. I know that."

She took a step towards the unreadable brunette and gently gripped onto her wrist. She could feel her pulse racing. "But he was nothing compared to you."

"He didn't know to give me the purple Jolly Ranchers, he just assumed that blue was my favorite. He didn't know that I don't like milk chocolate. He always took me out on crazily fancy dates. We never had a pizza and jammies date night, which you know is my favorite. He was a great guy. But he wasn't you Em."

Emily's tears ran down her cheeks and pooled at her jaw. She prided herself on treating Alison the best she possibly could every day. When the blonde left, she thought Alison partially left because she knew she could find better. "Ali-"

"I have dreamt since I was, like, twelve of my wedding. I have this entire binder dedicated to it." Alison had to rub at her eyes, seeing Emily cry, always made her cry as well. "I was stupid Em. Not once in my life have I thought this fairy tale wedding twelve year old Ali created would actually happen before I met you. You are everything to me, and you give everything to me. I would give up being a surgeon to be with you for the rest of our lives."

Emily surged forward and crashed their lips together. She skillfully managed them back to Emily's room. Alison hit the bed, her gasp getting stuck in Emily's mouth. The brunette pushed back slightly, their noses still touching, their hooded eyes staying locked on one another's. "Say it." Emily growled.

"Say it, Alison." Emily's fingers looped on the waist band of Alison's bluejeans.

"I love you Emily." Alison breathlessly whispered.

The room seemed to flip upside down in a matter of seconds. Alison's, as well as Emily's, clothes were strewn throughout the entire bedroom. Their lips being scorched by lust, melted their plump, soft flesh together. Hands wandered aimlessly. Alison's touch burned Emily to her core. Her wet hair dripped on the pillow underneath the blonde's head.

Emily kissed every portion of Alison's neck and chest. She suckled on Alison's large, perky breasts before she growled into the moaning girl's ear, "get on your hands and knees."

Alison quickly obliged, her own pleasure reaching a height she's never felt before. Emily roughly pushed her back down. Emily's soft hands gripped the blonde's hips, yanking her to the edge of the bed.

Emily quickly rammed her pulsing member into Alison's slick core. Her fingers gripped tightly against Alison's hips as she pounded into Alison, almost as hard as the rain pounded against the cheap aluminum roof of the apartment complex.

It was a big turn on for the blonde when Emily wasn't so gentle with her. Emily's large palm pushed against her lower back, pressing her farther into the mattress. Immediately, a new wave of pleasure coursed through her. She let out the loudest, most fake sounding, but pleasantly real, moan of her lifetime. "Fuck Em." She cried out again.

Emily felt the adrenaline, the need, the want, she felt it building within her. It was like a boiling pot, and the water finally started spilling above the rim. Her water was falling at the rate of a waterfall. Her emotions were coming out all at once.

The brunette whimpered. She struggled to keep herself composed for as long as she possibly could. But ultimately, her feelings imploded much faster than she would've hoped for.

Alison rolled over, her chest heaving. Emily laid next to her, her eyes never leaving the blonde's face. She believed if she blinked, or looked away for three seconds that Alison would be gone.

So she watched her eyebrows knit together every few seconds. It was something she did a lot when she struggle to maintain a steady breathing rate. She watched her lips. She watched as Alison sucked in a breath, before slowly exhaling.

Alison finally rolled onto her side, catching brown eyes in the process. Emily had her head propped up on her bent arm, her other hand nervously playing with the silky sheets beneath her fingers.

Alison ran her fingers down Emily's scar. Her eyes were glued to the brunette and her entire body. Emily's body glistened in the light of the room. If she didn't know any better, Emily was a vampire. And she definitely took over the hottest vampire from Edward Cullen.

Ali brought her hand up and traced the outline of Emily's lingering bruise with the pad of her thumb. "He got you good, didn't he?"

"I got elbowed in an arrest a few days ago." Emily whispered, her eyes never leaving Alison's radiant blues. "I'm fine." Her voice drifted, barely audible above the pounding rain. Above their pounding hearts. Their focus was on each other, all other sounds and commotion around them was lost.

"Als?" Emily's fingers delicately traces along Alison's side. Goosebumps formed underneath her slender fingers.

"I'm here to stay Emily. I promise." She took Emily's hand and brought it to her mouth for a peck. "I am never leaving you again. That was the dumbest decision of my life."

Alison inched forward, planting her lips gently on Emily's. Their lip lock was surely less intense than it was earlier.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too Em." The brunettes eyes pooled with the same intensity of love they had before.

The brunette shifted. She pulled the covers over their chests as she held onto Alison. Her head laid on the blonde's shoulder, her arms squeezing her girl tight. She finally had Ali back. And she swore this time, she would never let her go.


	29. Chapter 29

Alison stepped off the plane and quickly made her way out of the terminal. The main thing she loved about flying lite was her transport time; she was able to get from point A to point B in a jiffy. Her carry on was packed to the brim with clothes, yet it still made her commute very easy.

She hailed a cab, instantly relaxing at the peace of being home. Cabs were so much easier to obtain. The traffic felt virtually non-existent. Her forehead rested on the cold window. She watched the medium sized buildings pass by with a smile.

There was always an exciting feeling being back home. She'd been going back and forth between Rosewood and LA for months now. Every two weeks, she would come home for almost a week. She was in the process of switching over her patients, and handing off her research to someone she trusted with it. The light at the end of the tunnel was in sight.

The taxi dropped her off at the cement walkway to her grand front door. She loved how up-kept Emily kept the front of the house. She had planted some new flowers. She always cut the grass into a checkerboard. Although now with the snow covering it all, she couldn't see the flowers, and the grass was a long ways away from being cut how she liked it. 

She had thrown her carry-on bag into hers and Emily's room, before she hopped into her car and headed off to the hospital. The morning was young. She stopped by the coffee cart and order two muffins and two black coffees. She had tracked Spencer down, and handed her the designated treats for her.

"I thought you weren't going to be back for another few weeks." Spencer questioned, after they quickly embraced of course.

"I wanted to surprise Em." She smiled, picking at her muffin and tossing the crumb in her mouth. "Plus, I'm officially home."

After a short conversation with Spencer, she made her way up to the top floor of the hospital. She loved the big open windows that resided along the crosswalk to the most prestigious office in the building. She tapped her knuckles on the wood barrier three times before she peeked her head into the cracked doorway.

He was sitting at his desk. He, along with desk, was buried in paperwork. Among noticing her presence, the pen dropped to the desk with two light clicks. "Alison. It's good to see you again." A big smile appeared on the man. He was visibly more gray than the last time Alison had seen him.

"It's good to see you too."

"Well," he crossed his arms and sat back into his chair, "I assume you aren't sitting across just for the hell of it, are you?"

"No." She smiled. Alison had always admired how concise her former superior was. Getting evaluations and second opinions from him always kept her day rolling fast. "I would like a job, back here."

The chief dipped his head, and picked at the staple on the papers in front of him. "I'm sorry Alison, I've already filled the department head position. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."

"I don't want my old job back." Over her many flights back and forth from Los Angeles back to Rosewood, she had contemplated what she would do once she made her move back home permanent. She had already spent so much time away from her family, friends, and Emily. She still needed to build off of what her and Emily had re-established since she first came back to fight for the brunette.

"I realized what is actually more important to me; and that's my family. I want to spend more time with them all. It's not about the awards or being the best doctor in the country for me anymore. I love what I do, but I want a normal life as well."

Alison figured she could retire and be a stay at home....well she could just retire at the moment. But, her days would be dull. She would be bored of cleaning and running errands, and most importantly, she would count down the seconds until Emily got home. So, a day job was definitely her best option. The hospital still would give her odd hours at times, especially when she was on call, but Emily had an inconsistent work schedule as well.

The chief shot Alison a genuine smile, "I'm sure I can figure something out. I'd love to have you back. I'll be in touch with you in the next few days."

The blonde loved her home. Not just because it was designed by her lover, but because it was truly a masterpiece. It was like one of those houses you would typically see in a landscaping magazine or on a television show. The neighbors probably would've thought they were stuck up rich bitches. Good thing Emily was too nice. She literally did everything in her power to make sure that they definitely did not look stuck up without even trying.

She was excited. For so many reasons. She was finally one hundred percent back home; and she was surprising Emily. Their relationship hadn't necessarily pick up from where the left off, when Alison left. The engagement ring wasn't on her finger. She actually had no idea where it was; she was almost too terrified of the answer to ask.

Her and Emily were different too. It was as if they had retreated back to their first days getting to know each other, prior to when they first started dating. They weren't really awkward with one another. It was more so, they didn't know where they stood with each other. They were both on different pages. Things had finally gotten back to how it used to be. They were just as tender, just as sweet with each other as they were before. 

Spencer and Toby sat down with Alison when she first started making trips back and forth until her work was finished in Los Angeles. Spencer stressed how much she actually needed to work to get back Emily's trust, even if it the brunette didn't make it seem like she did. The married couple had witnessed the pain and hurt, they dried her tears, and kept her positive while Alison was gone. And Ali knew that they were right. Emily would forgive easily, but the trust between them wouldn't be as high as they once were. She wouldn't open her deep scars before they healed, just to get cut even deeper. Emily was smarter than that.

There was a bubbling feeling within the pit of Ali's stomach. She couldn't wait until her love got home.

Emily stalked around the inside of the house. The radio attached to her shoulder periodically interrupted her train of thought. Her gun was up, just as a precaution. The house looked abandoned. The front door was ajar, kicked in, begging anyone to enter. She recognized the house when she first got the address to head to the scene. It was Mrs. Thomas' old house. Emily had brought her cookies when her husband passed away; well, Emily was the delivery girl. Pam was the driving force behind the cookie operation.

The house had been empty for years; Mrs. Thomas had passed nearly seven years ago. A tip came to the station that some local dealers were setting up shop in the old house. From the looks of it, no one was inside the abandoned building. But in her profession, Emily couldn't afford to be lazy in regards to her disciplines. Ali would kill her if she knew that she was back to throwing herself in the thick of things when she could and she didn't' have too.

A muddy boot track near the bathroom sink had stopped her movements and engrossed her attention. It looked oddly familiar to her. She stared at it for minutes on end, trying her hardest to recall how she had even known that was a familiar track for her. When she came up empty, she radioed to her officers outside that the building was clear.

It was a beautiful Friday. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the air was crisp, but it wasn't blistering cold. They were the kind of days Emily loved. She moved from the big living room window, noticing all sorts of drugs laying on coffee tables and all over the counters. She made sure every room was clear before she checked in with her outside help.

Toby picked a small baggie of cocaine off the coffee table. "I've always wanted to hand over some evidence to the DEA." Toby smiled at the small circle of officers huddled around the table.

"You're out of luck, Tobes." Emily was using her pen to move the baggies on the counter around. "Take all this into evidence for us." She ordered to the group chatting in the living room. A few loud groans came from the group before they started following orders. "I want every inch of this house inspected."

"Oh come on Em." Toby walked into the kitchen, immediately protesting Emily's order. "This will be more paperwork for us today, we will have to stay late, and we can finally cross it off our cop-bucket list."

"I will do the paperwork." Emily demanded, waving him off to get more bags that were labeled 'Evidence.' For some reason, she had this feeling in her gut that they needed to investigate. She didn't want to just hand the drugs over. That would only temporarily halt the dealer's operations for a few days. She wanted the stuff gone. Eradicated. Extinct from her city. Not only for the entire population, but for her own family. She didn't want her kids to grow up around it in the future. She had the scene taped off, securing it so she could head back tomorrow to conduct her research.

On her way home, Emily had picked up takeout from the sushi restaurant on the corner of Main Street. It was fairly late, Emily hadn't stayed that late at the department in a while. She parked her truck in the garage next to Ali's car. She was thankful to be back at their house. But on the flip side, she hated pulling into the garage everyday and seeing Ali's car. It made everything seem so normal. That Ali would be home, up reading a book, waiting for her. They both determined that it would be more cost effective for Alison to keep her car at home while she was in between travels, but now, Emily was beginning to hate their decision.

Emily sighed, flicked the light off in the garage and headed into the house. She un-tucked her shirt from her pants and un-clipped her belt from her waist. She set it on the kitchen island, along with her plastic bag full of sushi. The brunette quickly opened the styrofoam container and popped a piece of sushi in her mouth, not caring what particular flavor she had grabbed. Half-way through her chewing, she heard a loud clatter come from the basement. She quickly swallowed the food in her mouth as she reached for her belt to grab her pistol.

She waited before she made any movement. Only seconds later, she heard another similar rumble come from the basement. She tiptoed to the basement, her motions going in slow motion as she carefully opened the door. She flicked the safety off her gun, wielding it so it was ready to use if needed. Her feet hit the cement in the basement. The coolness went through her socks and sent a shiver up her spine.

She rounded the corner, seeing a pair of feet near the hot water heater. The feet were facing away from her, yet, her heart still sped up a tick. A box fell, and the intruder bent down to pick it up. She got a glimpse of blonde hair, and suddenly her worries disappeared.

"What the fuck are you doing? I almost shot you." Emily clicked the safety back on her gun before she stuffed it in the waistband of her pants.

Alison had dropped the box in shock, she had just picked up, again. She hadn't even heard Emily come home. "You scared me." Alison smiled, her hand over her heart. She could feel the erratic thumping against the palm of her hand.

Emily stepped forward and enveloped the startled blonde into a loving embrace. "What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be back here for another two weeks? How come you didn't tell me you were coming back sooner?" Emily pushed back from Alison, still making sure she was holding on to her girl's hands.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it silly?" Ali chuckled, watching the big, happy grin Emily wore on her face. She used to see that smile all the time, and she had missed it while she was away.

"No, I suppose not." Emily pushed her left palm into the cold metal of their rickety washer. It used to be Emily's grandfathers machine, but when her parents upgraded, they passed it down to her. "Did you get some extra time off?"

"No." She answered flatly. She watched as Emily's face contorted into a look of confusion. Her eyebrows almost strung together as one, coupled with her signature scowl, completed her look. Alison thought it was one of the cutest things. "I'm home."

"Yeah, Ali, I see that-"

"No," the blonde interrupted, she wanted to make sure her point was very clear "I'm home. I'm here for good. To stay."

"Really babe?" Emily started mumbling something to herself while she paced in a tight circle. Even though Ali had been back periodically, Emily had just been calling her by her actual name. It felt weird for the blonde, so it was a major victory for her to hear a term of endearment.

"Yeah." Alison grabbed Emily's bicep to stop her from continuing her path. "I asked the chief for a job today."

"Really?" The excitement was evident in her voice. "But didn't they fill your position? I think I remember Spencer telling me that they filled it."

"They did." She could see the internal panic through Emily's eyes. "But....I'll hopefully just be a normal surgeon."

"Do you want to look somewhere else? I mean, you could try over in Philly, it wouldn't be the worst drive. Or-" Alison stopped her pacing antics quickly.

"I don't want my old job back." Emily's eyebrows crinkled. Her beautiful brown eyes looked at her questioningly. "I asked to be a normal attending." Alison shifted her head from side to side, "My work takes more time away from you and being the head of the department, it takes even more. I want to spend as much time as I possibly can with you. I wasted so much of our time. I mean, I could retire, but I would kind of go crazy waiting around for you all day." Alison played with her own fingers, her hands wringing together. She felt awful for the time they had spent apart because of her selfishness.

"It's okay." Emily gently pried Alison's hands apart as she stepped into the blonde, throwing the blonde's hands around her own waist as she pulled the blonde into a hug. "Everything will turn out like it's supposed to be. I'm right by your side with whatever decisions you make." She whispered in the blonde's ear, her hand caressing the back of Alison's head.

Alison gently pushed herself away from the brunette's vice grip of a hug. "I want to be here with you, Em. Forever. No going back." She saw that look in Emily's eyes. The one Spencer had warned her had finally flickered its incandescent into oblivion. And here it was. Dancing proudly in the night. The light only Alison herself had been able to spark into Emily Fields.

"Me too." She whispered back, lunging forward to connect their lips in a gentle, yet passion filled kiss.

"That's why," Ali smiled, "I have a surprise for you this weekend." She pulled out two tickets to a Green Bay Packer game, this coming Sunday.

"NO WAY!" Emily shrieked, ripping the tickets out of Alison's hands. She was holding them up to the light, close to her face, trying to peel them apart, just to validate them. "You know how many times I've been presented with false tickets?"

"No, but I can assure you, those are real." Alison smiled and turned back to the boxes, digging for warmer materials they needed for the game this weekend. The weather was forecast as snowy and cold, especially since it was a night time game. "Good thing you are the boss so you can take time off."

Emily had been working feverishly all week. Tomorrow she and Alison were suppose to go to her first National League Football game at Lambeau Field, but she was so pressed at work; she was even working today, which she never does unless she absolutely needed too. She was beginning to doubt if she would be able to go to the game tomorrow.

On the bright side of the week, aside from her obvious excitement for the game, she and Alison had fallen back into their old patterns. Everything felt normal. It was as if everything was back into place.

On top of her ungodly amounts of paper work, the case involving Mrs. Thomas' house had produced some information through their collection of evidence, for some reason there seemed to be even more arrests this week, and there had been three accidents that had taken up most of her time.

When the team had gotten back from Mrs. Thomas' house, to say she was disappointed with the amount of evidence lifted from the scene, was an understatement. So, the next day, she took matters into her own hands. She sifted through every inch of that house: the floorboards, the attic, the garage, all of it. For a second time. And she found it. The little dagger that would catch this person. Underneath the flap of the couch, a cigarette butt resided on the hardwood floor.

With that being said, today she found herself staring at the white pages filled with telling reports from tests done at their lab. She was shocked. For a moment, she didn't really know what her plan of action should be. But she was the chief. The chief couldn't cower away from her findings like Emily really wanted too. Instead of following what her old self would've done, she dialed for her dad.

"Hi dad." Wayne could hear the uneasiness in her voice.

"Hey there Emmy. How's everything been going? Are you excited for the game tomorrow?" Her dad had always tried calming her down first.

"Yeah, I'm excited. We're both pretty excited." She paused and ran her hand over her forehead. "We're doing good; it's like things are how they used to be. I'm super excited, although I wish you were going with me. Too. Of course I want to go with Ali-" Her index finger tapped the file on her desk.

"What's the matter honey?" Wayne could hear his daughter's fingers drumming a hole through the top of her desk.

"I'm kind of in a tough spot at work. I can't tell you details, but let's just say I have evidence of some illegal activities by someone on the force here. And someone who is highly regarded, nonetheless." Her fingers stopped the off tune rhythm and flew to her forehead, the tips of her fingers digging into her temple.

"You have to do what you think is right Emily."

"I know, but dad-"

"Em, listen to me. It's hard to decide when something of that nature is going on. Go home, change, and get going. Take the weekend to figure it out. That way you have time to think things through and you can still enjoy the game."

Emily left the precinct early. Alison was surprised when she arrived home so early, to say the least. The blonde almost dropped the vase her grandmother had given her straight on the floor. She hit Emily on the shoulder with the dusty washcloth she was cleaning with. "What in the world are you doing home so early," Alison stuck her head around the edge of the wall so she could get a look at the time, "it's only two." Alison noticed the tension and stress in Emily's eyes right away. Her eyes revealed everything.

"I know." Emily gently gripped the blondes biceps, rubbing them gently up and down before she leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips. "Get your stuff ready; let's leave now instead of tomorrow morning."

"Emily," she looked at Emily as if the brunette had grown four heads, "our plane tickets aren't until tomorrow morning." She lifted her right hand and felt Emily's forehead with the back of her fingers.

"I know, but I had them changed." Maybe she was stressed about my reaction, Alison thought. 

It was a hefty price to pay, but Emily wanted to explore the city of Green Bay and take Alison out as well. They had booked their flight out of Philadelphia, that way it was a cheaper trip all around. Their drive to the airport was filled with gossip, terrible singing, laughter, and even silence; Alison had fallen asleep just about fifteen to twenty minutes away from the airport.

Emily had also upgraded their seats to first class in addition to moving their flight up a day. It was like a mini vacation for both of them, considering their work schedules, so Emily wanted to go all out. The pair had never flown together before, but Emily had told her blonde numerous times that she was a nervous flyer. She preferred to drive over flying, even if that meant it was a twenty-hour drive, she would rather endure that.

Just before they were about to take off, Alison could sense the tension residing in Emily. She glanced over to see the brunette with her eyes closed, her body completely rigid. Alison flipped the armrest up and leaned her head on Emily's shoulder. She reached for Emily's hand, interlocking their fingers. She could feel how clammy her lover's hands were.

Alison could hear the lump Emily had to swallow before her voice came out soft and shaky. "Ali put your buckle on."

Alison smiled into Emily's shoulder, "I have mine on babe."

With every shake of the airplane as they left the ground, Emily's hand got sweatier and sweatier. "We're good sweetie. Just give it a few minutes and it'll be smooth sailing after that." Ali cupped her other hand around their clasped hands, rubbing Emily's knuckles in a soothing matter. Maybe having Emily sit in the window seat wasn't the best idea.

The turbulence settled not even two minutes later. Emily pulled her hand away and wiped her sweaty palm on her jeans. "Ali?" Emily leaned over and whispered into the blonde's ear, her eyes and her head following the flight attendant walk down the aisle to assist their fellow flyers.

"What Emily?" Alison turned around to watch the short red headed flight attended stop at aisles and check in on fellow flyers.

"When do they come by and give food?" Alison turned around and looked at the serious brunette, completely dumbfounded.

"Are you kidding me?" Alison laughed and shook her head, "the way you were looking at her I thought she picked her nose or something." Alison nudged the brunette in the side playfully. "Not even ten seconds ago you were stiff as a board and nervous, and now you're hungry? God, what are we going to do with you?"

"Well-" Emily had that smirk on her face that Alison knew all too well.

"Don't even finish that sentence." Alison kept her attention on her phone, trying to let the moment pass.

"What?" Emily asked, trying to portray her innocence.

"I know you." She locked her phone and stared at the brunette. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were just about to suggest that we both conveniently go to the bathroom at the same time." All she got in return was a bashful smile and a head nod towards the bathroom, as if saying 'let's go.' "Sicko." Alison shook her head with the biggest smile on her face, her attention immediately went back to her phone and finding the episodes she downloaded onto her phone to watch during the flight.

They received many looks as they were getting off the plane and on the street as they stood and waited for a cab. The slightly ruffled hair, a partially torn shirt, and a few visible deep purple "bruises" really screamed out desperation sex to everyone who saw the pair. Especially everyone on the plane. But, how could Alison really deny the opportunity for Emily and herself to join the Mile High Club?

After they settled into their hotel room, Emily was practically parked at the door and scratching at it like a puppy that needed to go outside.

Five minutes into their walking around, Emily had gotten hungry, which was absolutely no surprise. In fact when she thought about it, Alison suspected it was Emily's plan all along. They stopped at one of the chain restaurants lined in the plaza square. They basically had the whole place to themselves.

Alison had declined food. She was still full from service on their flight. She felt like she was having an out of body experience. She was watching Emily eat, and talk with her mouth full of course, but she couldn't hear anything the brunette was saying.

Emily's smile was the only thing that Alison could see; her laugh was all she could hear. That warm bubbling feeling within her was back. After so long of being without Emily, without that feeling, she finally felt whole again.

It was easy to see the excitement within Emily. For starters, she woke up around five in the morning and was completely ready for the day by six. Long before Alison was even awake.

Emily had a pep in her step all day, and of course, that pep didn't stop. It only intensified with every minute it was closer to game time. Emily wanted the full Green Bay Packer experience, so, they ended up tailgating. Although it was cold, and snow was slowly falling to cover the parking lot, neither Emily nor Alison were cold. They had bought a little heater and plugged it into the car they were renting with some new outlet device that Alison had never seen before.

It wasn't traditional tailgating, as they were eating store-bought salads and drinking something other than beer. But, they still experienced the burgers, the games of football, all of it really. Other fans around them weren't satisfied with their choice of tailgating food and activities, so of course they shared their bratwursts, hot dogs, and hamburgers.

"I have the chills." Emily looked in awe as they made it into the bowl of the stadium. She had stopped walking, her eyes wide as she took in the stadium like a kid in a candy store.

As the flyover happened at the end of the National Anthem, Alison leaned in and whispered, "I have the chills too."

Although Alison wasn't the biggest fan in the world, she still had such an amazing time at the game. Emily, as were the people all around them, were yelling and screaming the entire game. The game was capped off with a narrow victory over the Detroit Lions, twenty-three to twenty-one.

It was an up and down match, both teams were toe to toe the entire match. It was exhilarating. It was everything that Emily hoped her first game would be. She couldn't believe she had finally made it to a game, and with Alison by her side made it even better.

The fans started filtering out of the stadium's bowl as the players made their way off the field and into their locker rooms. Emily ran down to the seating next to the tunnel where the players were leaving. Alison smiled and slowly walked down to where Emily was, giving high fives to players. Emily turned around with the biggest smile on her face that Alison had ever seen. 

Emily couldn't speak, she tried muttering out words, but she came up empty. All she could do was hold up a pair of white Under Armor gloves. 

"Where'd you get those?" Alison asked once she finally made it to her girlfriend. 

Emily turned and pointed down the tunnel, but obviously the player who had given her the gloves had already been long gone. As best she could, she cleared her throat and squeaked out, "Randall Cobb."

"Can't we just stay here forever?" Emily sat down on the cold metal bleacher style seats. 

"Come on." Alison reached for her hands, pulling her onto her feet. Emily took one last look around the stadium. When she turned back around, ready to follow Alison out to their vehicle, Alison was down on one knee, presenting her with a very small-banded ring. It had no center stone; the tiny diamonds were all along the band, which had a very limited amount of sparkle. A perfect ring for her.

"Yes."

Alison couldn't help but laugh. "Are you even going to let me actually ask you?"

Emily nodded. Her eyes were already starting to water, they were like a sheet of glass. You could see the tears forming perfectly within her brown eyes. 

"I made the worst decision of my life leaving you. I know that I put you through hell and I know that it hurt for a long time. Because you love with everything you have in you. It's one of the many things that I love about you. You've proved, every day, how much you love me, my family, my friends. You've always put me first, making sure I was taken care of. You're tough, mentally and physically. You beat fucking cancer. Twice. Your job is tough; it wears on you sometimes. I can see it in your eyes when you come home. I ask you about your day and you tell me the same answer that it was good, you're tired, and happy to be home. Then you proceed to cook dinner, or get the movie on, and lay on the couch with me and ask about my day. I promise I'm here for you. If you want to yell about work, scream. If you want to cry, I'll hold you tight. You don't have to be tough for me all the time. I promise you I'm here for you, forever. Marry me, and for the rest of our lives, you'll take care of me; and I'll take care of you. Okay?"

"Deal, now frickin' kiss me." Alison giggled before their lips connected in a short passion filled moment before they broke and held one another. "I was going to re-propose."

"I have some romantic Emily moments in me too, you know."

They had left the stadium and decided to go get a bite to eat before they went back to the hotel and grab their bags to fly back home. They had decided on a small burger joint near the hotel. Alison was on her phone, texting Spencer and her mother, letting them know that everything went well and according to the plan. 

"The past twenty-four hours, have been the best of my entire life." Emily's words made her turn off her phone and smile at her once again, newly made fiancé. 

"Me too." 

Emily smirked, "airplane sex, a Packer game at Lambeau Field, Randall Cobb's gloves, and then you wanna wife me up while we're at Lambeau...yikes girl, you really want some rough sex or what?" 

"Emily." Alison looked around embarrassingly, but luckily for her, there wasn't another customer in the restaurant. 

"I'm going to wash up quick." The brunette stood up and kissed Ali's cheek before she headed off into the bathroom. 

Just a few moments later, their food came out, and the older server lingered at the table for a moment. "She looks at you like you're everything." The older woman commented. "She's like putty in your hands. Keeper, that one is. Very pretty, just like yourself. I can just tell that your love will last well beyond your years." 

What the old woman didn't know was that Alison was just as head over heels as Emily was. Putty in her hands, as the old woman had said. The old lady saw it. She saw exactly what Alison and Emily felt together. They were each other's everything. They both took turns being the putty. Their love was strong. Their connection was deep. It ran through the both of them and it made them who they were. The love they poured into one another was real. It was raw. And most importantly, it was powerful. 


	30. Chapter 30

Emily was up late in the middle of the night, near three in the morning. She couldn't sleep no matter what she did. She tried counting sheep, she tried deep breathing techniques, and she had even resorted to trying Alison's bogus lavender essential oil. Still, nothing worked.

She never understood how essential oils came to be a big thing. Sixty dollars for a bottle less than the size of your pinky-finger and the stuff questionably works. It's robbery, dammit.

Alison could always tell, even in her sleep state, that something was up with Emily. She could tell because the bed would be cold, she would roll over and find nothing. She would found the brunette clutching the toilet seat, passed out on the floor, vomit hanging onto her chin. There were many times she found Emily like that; right before she was informed her cancer was back. She really should've known.

She'd been able to tell something was up with Emily for a while now. At first she had drew it up to be pre-wedding jitters. Their big day was now within reach, only being a mere two days away. Over the past few days, she couldn't deny that it was something more than wedding nerves. The brunette was constantly jittery, she was almost completely checked out of the world once she returned home from work. The same routine had been going on for the past week. Emily would come home, plant herself in the living room, and head to bed.

It was almost as if she had turned into a robot. Normally, she was the one cooking dinner or at the very least in charge of their dinner plans. Alison was way too indecisive to make such big decisions. Her normal lovey emotions that spilled before she slipped into unconsciousness for the next eight and a half hours, had completely disappeared.

She knew something was eating at Emily, more than she had initially thought when she found the brunette sitting in front the unlit fireplace, her head in her hands, in the pitch black room. She tip-toed down the stairs, yet the three stairs that always creaked, didn't fail. Although, Emily didn't notice the sound.

"Em," Alison whispered when she had been in reaching distance of the brunette, she had touched her arm too, causing her to jump in surprise. "Sorry, I tried not to scare you." She carefully sat on the lip of the stone fireplace, slipping her arm through Emily's and leaning her head on the brunette's strong shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," the brunette replied quickly, her cheek resting on the top of Alison's head, a deep sigh passing her lips as her eyes fluttered shut, "I can't sleep."

"No." Alison wasn't going to let it go on any longer. She couldn't stand to see Emily so hung up about something. "You tell me what's going on." She wasn't too firm with her, knowing that never helped ease Emily into talking things out. After she got no answer she softly spoke, "no secrets. Come on, you can talk to me about anything."

"Can I just talk to you as my fiancé? It's work related and I can't..."

"I know, of course." Emily's fingers curled around her palm. They were warm and soft, which was no surprise at all.

Emily finally spilled her guts about work. Her old boss, the previous Chief, well Emily suspected that his son, Seth, was into a bit of trouble. When they had inspected Mrs. Thomas' house just months ago, she knew she had recognized it from somewhere, which was a good sign on the police end of things. Which was the reason she had everything sent to the lab, so they could inspect everything and do it the right way; the way Emily wanted it done. Upon some baggies of various drugs, they found many finger prints. The boots matched the force's brand of boots. She had matched a finger print from the baggie with Seth's. The only problem is, there could be a logical explanation as to why this evidence lead to him; he was part of the crew that backed her up that day. Emily had since cleared the area of police tape, hoping that somehow she could gather more evidence at a later date. She spent many evenings camped out, watching people filter through the house, one of which being Seth.

"How come you haven't brought it up to anyone yet?"

If only it were that simple Ali, she thought. Seth was brand new to the force. To the public eye, along with others in the force, it would look like she was scared the kid was going to take her job. Hell it was the kid's father's job for decades. The evidence she had could easily be dismissed, which would only hurt herself too. She knew she needed indisputable evidence when bringing up something of this caliber.

"It's the previous Chief's son."

She sat at her desk, the end of her pen tapping the dark wood. Ali would've been annoyed by her motions; she'd always pointed out how annoying her habits were. She had been staring at that damn muddy boot print she found at Mrs. Thomas' house over a month ago. The print was so familiar to her, and it angered her that she hadn't placed it yet. Her phone chimed, Alison wanted to meet for lunch. She tucked the photo copy of the boot print in her top desk drawer and got her coat. It was a rainy day, a very gloomy type of feel to the day. Alison surely would change that. She tugged on the collar of her jacket in attempt to stop the rain hitting her neck. She hopped into her cruiser, and headed off to one of Alison's favorite lunch spot, "Carl's." The little diner had the best soup and sandwiches around town.

Lunch was exactly what Emily needed. Her thoughts were clear of troubles at work, and a smile was put on her face by none other than her favorite person in the world. They fought over who was paying the bill. Alison tried to put cash in the black bill holder the waitress had given them, but Emily grabbed the holder, ripping it from Alison's reach as fast as she could. Her movement caused her elbow to hit her dishes, and her silverware went tumbling to the floor.

"Great, now you've caused a scene." Alison joked, watching as Emily bent down to pick up her mess hoping that she would set the bill holder back on the table.

Emily froze. How was she so stupid? She'd seen that print probably a thousand times. Her own wet boot tracks matched the muddy one in question. That meant it was someone within the system. This whole ordeal just turned into a bigger problem than she had even made it out to be. How many inside people were in on it? Was there anyone besides Toby she could trust with information at the station?

"Hello?" Alison lightly kicked Emily's shin under the table, she was taking far too long to pick up silverware, and they both needed to get back to work. Emily jumped out of her trance, her head hitting the table hard. "Sorry. You okay babe?" Her face had resorted back to the stressed out look Alison was so used to seeing the past few weeks.

"Um, yeah, no. Sorry, I have to get back to work." She stuck thirty dollars in the holder, and quickly kissed Alison on the cheek before she literally ran out of the diner while Alison was left in shock on what just happened.

Alison came up with her own plan to help Emily out. Something she could put into effect now, at almost four in the morning. Emily tried shutting her idea down of course, but ultimately Alison had won out. Emily drove near Mrs. Thomas' house, stopping her car at the nearest park so the pair could walk to the house.

They walked a block to the dismantled house in silence. Alison wanted to get the job done and get home. Emily gave her clear, and easy to follow instructions for the set up. She had to find something in the room that could easily conceal the camera yet still have a clear view of the room. And most importantly, she couldn't touch or move anything. Emily didn't want the location to be compromised.

Emily waited outside, doing her best to conceal herself yet still maintaining her lookout position. 

Alison was panicking. How did Emily, Toby, and all the other officers do this everyday? She had rethought where she was going to put these cameras that wouldn't seem so obvious. Inside the dolphin's eye that was resting on the mantle? "Too obvious." In the bookshelf? "Could you be more cliché Alison?" Finally, she beat her indecisiveness and put the camera on the pin of the clock hands. "Impressive." She set one up in the bathroom, deciding on using the dark, broken tiles in the bathtub to conceal the second camera.

Within twenty minutes, Emily had her arm around Alison's shoulder, gripping her hand, as they strolled home in the moonlight.

"You got big plans for tomorrow before I wife you up?"

Alison had told Spencer she didn't want a traditional bachelorette party, yet she wasn't sure if her best friend had taken her seriously. "I don't know, I left everything up to Spence...but I told her I didn't want to go to a club or anything, you know."

"Hey," she dropped Alison's hand and moved her arm to interlock their touching arms, "I won't be upset if you do. I get it, and I'm not worried about it."

Their footsteps were in perfect sync. Silence fell upon them, both girls letting their minds drift into the future. It was odd. They were finally here, well almost here, upon their forever. Something that neither thought would still exist today. They would officially be tied together for life in two short days.

"You and Toby have plans?"

"We're going the casino I guess." Emily shrugged, she didn't care for some stupid party either. Toby had requested her to come with him, so obviously, she obliged. "He made up some bullshit story on how his father went out to the casino the night before he was wed and that their marriage lasted, so it was imperative that we do the same." Emily smiled to herself, "but I know he just wants to drink and play some poker."

There was no sentiment on their final night before they were officially one. As soon as Emily's head hit the pillow, she was out like a light. It annoyed Alison. There could be an Earthquake and Emily would still be able to sleep. Her mind had drifted towards her parents and her soon to be in-laws. She knew they were going to be so excited, all four of them. She and Emily had placed a bet on which parent would cry first. Alison smartly chose Pam. Pam was almost like a slam-dunk choice. That woman cried at just about anything cute, or heartfelt. Emily on the other hand, went for a dark horse approach and pick Ken. The guy was like a brick wall of emotions on the outside, but she knew deep down he had to be a soft ball of mush.

Spencer arrived early the next morning, leaving both Alison and Emily to feel fatigued in the morning. After providing and joining both girls for breakfast, Spencer took Alison on her adventurous day ahead. They shared a kiss, followed by "I love you's" and "have fun tonight" before they departed from each other until their big day. Toby wanted to meet up later in the night, around ten-ish, so that left Emily alone for the majority of the day.

Her parents had contacted her about catching up before her plans with Toby, but respectfully, she declined. She told them she was going to perfect her vows and wanted quiet space for that, but in reality, her plans were to watch the cameras until it was time to meet Toby. She pulled her laptop open, already finding that there were a few guys in the frame. Alison had put the camera in a perfect spot. She could see exactly what they were doing with the drugs scattered on the table. Yet, the man in question wasn't there. It was early day, so she hadn't expected him to show up during his scheduled hours down at the station.

Surprisingly though, he showed up. It was ten-thirty, well before their lunch period. Seth came in, sat down on the old raggedy couch. He stayed for about fifteen minutes before he left with a big bag. It was difficult to tell what was inside. Emily saw many other small baggies that contained a powdered substance. It could be anything from cocaine, meth, or heroin.

Her mind was blown. Her suspicions were true, and she could take this guy down. She didn't want her mind to be on Seth today, or tomorrow, or on their honeymoon. The girls were taking three days in-between their wedding and their honeymoon, for work purposes of course, so she figured this would be settled then. She set the laptop on the coffee table, still leaving the live camera feed on display, still letting it record movements in the "abandoned home."

She felt antsy and stressed about the entire situation, so she took a quick hot shower before she headed off to the food truck that usually parked just blocks from their street. Walking took her mind to so many different places. Walking had always been therapeutic for her. When her mother took frustration out on her when she was a kid, after the first cancer scare of course. When she got upset about her dad's permanent condition. Every time some teased her, or called her names. Walking was always there for her.

She ordered the big philly, her order every time she went to the truck. It was the best sandwich she's ever had. Plus, it came with a pretty big side of fries. For only six dollars, Emily considered it the best bargain of her life.

To Alison's surprise, Spencer considered her wishes. She not only considered it, but upheld them. They spent their day with other friends at the spa, eating fancy lunch and dinner, and having a bar completely to themselves. Shutting the bar down was not cheap, and Alison knew that and was very grateful for that. They had alcohol already paid for and endless karaoke for the seven of them. It kept the night fun and full of laughs, everything that Alison had wanted.

Emily was killing it, as per usual. Toby had started taunting new players that would sit at their table. Although he had played many times with Emily over the years, he still hadn't been able to pick up her giveaway. He played it safe, folding when his chances were low, and picking up the play when Emily folded. Together, they ran the table the entire night. Both of them were definitely going to make a very nice profit at the end of the night.

The following morning Alison was calm. She was excited, and her heart felt like it was beating in her throat the entire day, yet she was a cool cucumber. Spencer had her on a schedule, and she was ahead of her times. Spencer, her own mother, and her second mother: Pam, were helping her get ready.

Both girls went off separately and were photographed by themselves, with their chosen "bestie" as the girls had relabeled their honored friends, and their parents.

The ceremony was held in a small side room of the giant industrial building. It was a beautiful brick building, with high ceilings. The venue was the perfect scene for a wedding. It had big windows that gave spectacular views of the river flowing behind the building and the fresh green grass with the pink, purple, and yellow flowers out front. There were separate rooms for their ceremony, cocktail party, and dinner service.

Alison's cool, calm demeanor snapped at the first sight of raindrops. Although they were inside, her dream was a sun-filled day. Her mood turned sour, fast. She started yelling at everyone for things they hadn't even done. Spencer snuck out of the room and headed to check on Emily and Toby. She found them both relaxing on the couch. She fell in-between them with a huff and told them how upset Ali was over rain.

Emily rubbed her palms on her thighs and stood, making her way towards the door.

"Uh, where are you going?" Spencer questioned, knowing exactly where she was about to head off too.

"To calm her down."

"She's going to get pissed. You're not supposed to see her until she walks down the aisle." Ali was already in that state, so "ruining" another part of her wedding fantasies was going to set her top off.

"Well is she in her dress yet?"

Spencer thought for a moment. The day was so hectic already, and adding Alison's tantrum, it forced them behind schedule. "No."

"Then she'll get over it." Emily smiled and carefully closed the door. She walked around the corner of the hallway and tapped her knuckles on Ali's door twice before opening it and peeking her head inside.

"NO." "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" "EMILY GET OUT." Immediately Jessica and Pam yelled and tried pushing Emily out of the room.

"Can we have two minutes?" Emily looked both of them in the eyes; as if to tell them that, she had this. It was a quick debate for both of the mothers. They let Emily into the room and they slipped into the quiet hallway.

Emily took her time walking towards her soon-to-be wife. She didn't want to startle her and then be snapped at. She took a seat to the left of the blonde and reached for her hand. "What's the matter?"

"It's raining." Alison whispered through her sniffles.

Emily looked outside to see it pouring out now. She was puzzled as to why rain even mattered. "Yeah, but we're inside." Emily pointed out softly.

"It means this marriage isn't going to last, dummy. We're doomed."

"You got that from rain?" Brides say and do crazy things on their wedding that was certain. "I'm sorry, but that's dumb."

"How? That's just the truth."

"Rain," Emily started, hoping this tactic would help her get a grip, "makes knots stronger. We are "tying the knot" today. Just see things from a different perspective. At the end of the day, you'll still be my wife. The guests will still get their food and they'll get to dance. It's not a disaster...yet." Emily winked and got her girl to smile. All would be alright.

Emily stood, staring at all the faces seated in front of her. It felt like she was waiting for hours. It was almost like slow motion for the brunette. She saw Alison and completely melted. She was so beautiful. Today was going to be the best day of her life. She wiped at the corner of her eye, drying the tear she was holding back. She smiled at Alison and she got a wider smile in return. Ali and Ken made it to Emily with Ken ready to hand his daughter over.

"I love you kid." Ken whispered in Emily's ear before he turned to sit in the first row with his wife. 

The ceremony went perfectly. There weren't many dry eyes, if any, during both girls speeches. Alison hit heavily on how much Emily changed her life and how she was terrified while her brunette was hospitalized. The whole speech was about Emily and her magical personality that could make anyone's day light up. She was so thankful that no one else beat her to marrying her girl. Emily hit a range of all kinds of emotions in her speech. All the funny moments they shared, the fights they had, the good times, Christmas', but her main point was how thankful she was to have been greeted with the kindness Ali had shown her the first moment they met. Of course Emily threw in her speech how Alison owed her fifty dollars now, Ken cried first.

Everyone could see the happiness on both newlyweds faces how happy they were during the dinner service. The two were going on about the night as if nothing were different. It was as if they were in a restaurant and they were out on a date. They were talking and of course laughing together, not giving a second thought to the people surrounding them.

Their first dance approached them quickly. Emily didn't particularly like that everyone stood around them to watch and the fact that they had a spot light on them, but, she would never make a fuss out of it. "I'll never be thankful enough to have you." Alison had her chin resting on Emily's shoulder. Emily moved her hand on her wife's back in a soothing motion.

"I know, me too baby." Emily beamed. Her insides were like a wound up toy. "I can't even express how much I love you and what you mean to me."

Ali giggled, "I think you just did that today."

Emily hummed, the goofy smile still on her face. "There just isn't enough words." She paused for a moment, twirling Ali before she dipped her to fit the music, "good thing I have the rest of our lives to tell you."

They both stayed in the moment. It was a different kind of buzz that they each felt, and they wanted to hold onto that forever.

Emily asked Jessica for a dance while Ali took Pam out onto the dance floor.

"I'm not sure if I ever got to thank you." It had been on Emily's mind for a while now. She owed a lot to the DiLaurentis family. She would forever be in debt to them.

"For what dear?" Jessica always admired her manners.

"Just for the way you guys treated me from the beginning." The brunette knew when something seemed too good to be true, and the DiLaurentis family had that vibe. Turned out that they showed their true colors from the get-go. "With me delivering you the news about Jason..." That was tough for her. She thought for sure that her girlfriend's family would shun her, yet they ended up becoming her in-laws. "For helping when I was sick."

"We love you, you've never had to thank us." Jessica kissed her cheek the same way her own mother would do. "Just take care of my baby."

She knew that was something she couldn't possibly screw up. "I will," she beamed.

Both Toby and Spencer absolutely crushed their speeches. Spencer had lifelong memories to share of her friendship with Alison. Especially all their grueling late night hours studying and staying up late during their shifts. Toby's was equally as impactful although he had known Emily for much less time than his counterpart had been friends with Ali. He had some great stories to share about their run in academy training together. He even shared that Emily scared him for the longest time. She was intimidating, a strong and smart woman, and never talked to him any time he tried. Turned out that she just didn't really talk to people.

Emily sought out her father. She knew her mother was off having fun, sipping wine, and dancing the night away. Her dad was looking at photos of the girls from the slide show Spencer had created for their day. 

"Hey dad." She hadn't had the opportunity to check out the slideshow yet either.

"Hi honey. The hard part's over right?" He joked, throwing his arm around Emily's waist.

Emily laughed, she and her father always had the same type of humor; something that frustrated her mother sometime. "If that was the hardest thing we'll ever do, the rest of our life will be a cake walk."

"You know," her dad smirked, "I said just about the same thing about your mom and I."

That didn't surprise her at all. When she was younger, sometimes she could've sworn her parents were like, destined to be together. Her parents could always tell when the other needed space, or needed that extra little support to get them through tough times.

"I'm so happy for you." He paused, watching a picture of Emily and Alison flash across the screen. It was the widest smile he'd ever saw on his girl's face. "Both your mother and I. This is all I've ever wanted for you."

The night seemed to last forever. Hit songs from the eighties, nineties, and two thousands blared. People had multiple drinks. Everyone had sore, tired feet from dancing. Bellies were full. And the room was bright.

Their day could not have gone any better, and it still wasn't completely over. People had started leaving, flaking out since the end of dinner service, but now the crowd of people left was noticeable thin. Their parents were still there, the besties were still there, and there were only about a handful of other people remaining on the dance floor. Ali and Emily were slow dancing along with the two other couples dancing.

"You always know what to do, what to say, you're just so perfect." Ali gushed, leaning in to kiss her wife. She had been doing that a lot since they became official.

"I try." Emily smiled, her cheeks hurt from doing it so much today. There wasn't a reason to not be smiling today. "Do you want to head home?" Emily could tell Ali was tired. She was too, there was no denying that, but Emily was a little better than Alison was at hiding her discomfort.

"We can't," Alison whined, "there's still people here."

"We're the ones they're celebrating. All four of them." Emily chuckled, pulling on Alison's hand as she tugged her towards the door. "We can do whatever the hell we want."

The night was pure bliss for the pair. They were banded together forever, and they were bound to celebrate it. Alison went full out, knowing exactly how to get Emily going in the right way, and Emily rewarded her for that.

The next morning arrived way too quickly again. Both girls were over the moon, and almost seemed happy to wake up and go to work. Almost. Alison's days were a tad shorter than Emily's were, willing that she didn't get put on an emergency surgery late into the afternoon. Unscheduled surgeries always screwed with Alison's time frame at work. Ali was excited to head into work. She wanted to show off her silver band, that matched with her wife's. Not to mention she loved her job, and adored just about ever single patient she's ever had.

Emily however, wasn't as excited to head into work. She wasn't excited at all. Today she would be putting the arrest out for Seth. She planned for backlash and planned for just about everything that could go wrong. She had the press lined up on speed dial in case it came down to it.

The two ate a breakfast together before they got ready for work. Emily was ready first, dressed in her uniform and feeling prepared for her day. Alison wasn't as close to being ready to leave the house. She always had to dress up to walk in the hospital for three minutes and then put scrubs on. It never made any sense to the blonde.

"Have a good day at work baby." Emily stood in the doorway of their bathroom, leaning against the door frame. Alison faced her and set her brush down on the sink counter top, "you have a good day too, my wife." Alison replied walking towards her, catching her lips once she was in striking distance. Her hands started to wander Emily's body, but they didn't get very far before they were caught by the brunette's soft hands. "I'll be restraining these tonight." Emily whispered seductively, causing Alison's mouth to fall open. "I love you."

The first few hours of being in her office were pretty standard. She was compiling evidence the right way to set everything she needed for the arrest in order, while fellow officers came in to congratulate her. It wasn't until Seth left a little before lunch time when things picked up. She called a meeting in their conference room in the back of the building. She wanted everyone to be aware of the situation, and to have the facts and evidence to accept what was happening. She hoped that this would help everyone from accusing of Emily making this up.

The video evidence was pretty damning. While she was away getting her lunch, Seth went back to the house to hand the guys over money, indicating that he was selling the drugs himself on the streets. She also informed all her officers that Seth was their first arrest because he was an officer of the law. She had every intent on arresting everyone else who showed their face in the video.

The video, piled on with the boot print matching his size, and his fingerprints found in the house, even though he wasn't there any of the days they were inspecting the place, sold the officers on it. They hadn't sent the arrest out until Seth was back at his desk. Emily wanted to catch him the easy way, not chase him around to bring him behind bars. Emily had begun to receive calls as soon as the public got a whiff of the arrest. Her phone was so busy, people were calling everyone else's phone. The whole precinct was filled with ringing phones. Emily knew she had to call a press conference.

Ali was in OR rooms all day at work, so she didn't see the ruckus of the news on Seth. However, she didn't need to see. She already knew what was going on.

Her day was long and exhausting. She sat at her desk and filled out paperwork for almost two hours before she was ready to call it a night and head home. Her feet ached, her back burned, but she knew Emily would rub them if she had asked. Spencer had filled her in on all of the buzz about Seth. They successfully got him behind bars, along with a few arrests of the some of Seth's other sellers.

With that knew information, Ali knew that Emily would be exhausted from her long day, and be coming home a little later than normal. And what she meant by a little later than normal, she meant a lot later than normal. She knew she'd be lucky if she'd see Emily walk through their front door by nine o'clock. On her way home, she picked up some of her favorite Chinese and decided on taking a nap.

Oddly enough, both women had to stay late at work to get paperwork done.

Emily's paperwork was long and tedious. She was hitting her wall; she definitely wanted to go home. She could leave the rest of it for tomorrow, but she always liked getting her work done as soon as she could. As her dad always said, "you never know what will happen tomorrow." Not even ten minutes later, there was a knock on her door. She called out, "it's open" quickly stopping her work. She didn't expect anyone to approach her. Normally Judy never bothered her if her door was closed. If she needed something from Emily, she would call her and notify her that way.

"I have a delivery for you ma'am." The young delivery boy placed a plain brown paper bag and left.

She learned to be very weary when receiving gifts down at the station. Even at her home. For all she knew, it could be a "gift" from a family member that she locked up. She stared at the bag for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she was going to open it. Her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to open it; and she was glad that she did.

"In case you need a little recharge. See you when you get home wifey. ;)"

She decided against her morale of work. She made it home as quickly as she could; she wanted to get home to her wife immediately. She parked her car next to Ali's in the garage and flicked the light off as she entered the house. For some reason, their normal house smell almost ignited the mushiness within her. She walked through the kitchen, finding the house dimly lit by the television. She found Alison asleep on the couch. The blonde probably stayed up waiting for her to return home.

"Hi love." Emily pushed herself on the couch next to Alison. The blonde woke to Emily's presence, happy that she was finally home. "I got your note." Emily pressed a kiss to the side of her head. She always thought she was so cute when she was sleepy.

Ali hummed and snuggled deeper in her chest. "I ordered it for you when I got home, and fell asleep right after."

"You always know I need a late night snack."

"Mhmmm." Ali stood, holding her hand out to her wife. "How about we get you some dessert right now?" She spoke devilishly in a low tone, pulling her wife upstairs to their bedroom.


	31. Epilogue

7 Years Later 

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon. The sun was out, bringing warmth into the fall, crisp air. 

Emily and Alison found themselves tangled in their bedsheets this late in the afternoon. Emily's hips met Alison's roughly and quickly. She held Alison's hair in her fist, pulling her head back towards her. She palmed Alison's round ass with her other hand, enjoying the view she had.

All Ali could do was whine and moan in pleasure. Emily loved seeing Alison's face as she came apart. She maneuvered them so Alison was on her back, completely visible to her. Her crystal blue eyes glassy, her hair a mess, but she was damn beautiful. Emily twitched inside her wife. 

She started off nice and slow, picking up her speed one pump at a time. She arched her head down, the pairs noses now touching every time their hips met. They were both panting, their hot breath hitting each other's face. 

"Fuck, I'm gonna cum baby." Emily huffed, her motions increasing in speed even more. 

"Mommy!" They heard a yell outside their door along with tiny rasps at the door following the scream. 

"Are you fuc-"

Alison put her hand over Emily's mouth as quickly as she could. "One second baby."

Alison quickly slid out from underneath her very frustrated wife and made her way to the door. Alison plucked her white robe off the hook that hung on their bedroom door and swung the door open. 

The much younger and shorter version of Alison stared up at the blonde. Her light blonde locks were tousled, multiple strands had come loose from her bun that rested on the top of her head during her nap.

"Mommy," the girl whined again, trying to push her way into their bedroom. Alison held the door open only a quarter of the way, enough for herself to fit through. 

"Hi sleepy head." Alison slipped through the rest of the doorway, closing the door with her, and picking up the sleepy blonde child who was rubbing at her eye. She placed the child on her right hip and made her way downstairs into the kitchen. "Are you hungry bug?" 

The young girl shook her head. In some ways, she was just like Emily. Alison turned the television that was in the kitchen on, to a show the young girl loved, and started preparing brunch for the small family. 

"Mama said we play before ride." The girl whined, her attention not even on her Lady Bug show. Their family, along with Spencer and Toby's, were going on a vacation to Hawaii. Their plane departed late tonight, just before eleven at night. 

"She will baby girl," Alison turned after she cracked an egg into the frying pan, "she's a sleepy head like you." 

As she was preparing a piece of toast the way both her girls liked it, butter first and then peanut butter, her phone chimes loudly on the kitchen counter. The noise startled her. She hadn't known it was even down here, she must've left it on the counter when she got her coffee this morning. 

'SO EXCITED!! Can't wait to leave 🏝'

Spencer was more fires up about taking a vacation. Her workload was now five times more than Alison's, since she was still the chief of cardio, so she was ecstatic about a week long vacation. 

She quickly typed out a reply before she plated all three of their lunches. 

When Emily finally came down to the kitchen and ate her brunch, she of course stuck to her word. She played kickball with Miley outside while Alison watched from the patio door. Every time Miley had a great kick she would look to Alison in the window with the biggest smile on her face. 

She found herself watching her two girls often. It was hard not too. Emily herself was intoxicating, and adding a little girl that had so many aspects of Emily in her, made it even more impossible not to sit back and watch. 

One way they were different; Miley handled the flight flawlessly. Emily on the other hand, handled the flight worse than hers and Ali's last flight. There was a reason Emily would rather drive through the night instead of flying. Their plane ride was rough the entire way; the air was full of tiny rain clouds. 

Emily squeezed Alison's hand the entire way that she was awake. Each time they hit a batch of turbulence, her grip would tighten. For the majority of the time, they all slept, as it was a late night flight. Their flight had been delayed for a handful of hours, so they were able to get some rest before they had taken off in the air.

"Jesus Em," Ali rubbed the palm of her hand while they waited for the bags to circle the carousel in the baggage claim area "I should've just slipped you a Xanax." 

"Hey." Emily smiled as she reached down to pull one of their heavy suitcases from the carousel. "It's just payback from when Miley was born." Emily winked, reaching for her wife's hand once they had all their bags. 

They waited for Toby and Spencer in the food court in the early afternoon. Emily went with a fast-food Chinese restaurant while Alison shared some chicken nuggets with Miley. Alison was busy texting her parents-letting them know that their plane had landed and they would be checking into their resort shortly. Emily and Miley were enthusiastically discussing how excited they were for their vacation and all the things that they had planned out. 

It always fascinated Alison when she noticed the mother daughter pair did something in the exact same way. They both did their morning stretch the same way; a stretch backwards, and then reaching to the floor to stretch their back out completely. The both ate the same way; they each flattened out their rice into a "patty" among many many similarities. Now, they were both picking at the rest of Emily's food, taking out mushrooms and onions because neither like them. 

Miley claimed that mushrooms were "a texture thing" yet she was fine when they were in dishes Alison cooked when Emily wasn't home for dinner. Miley really looked up to her mama. She always called her super mama, and was always in awe when Emily was in uniform. She'd always beg Alison to go visit her mama when she was stuck at work late. 

She loved her mommy too. She loved when mommy and auntie Spencer taught her things about surgery. She gloated to the kids in school that her mommy could cure sick people. Both her mothers amazed Miley. Just as she amazed her mothers. 

When Spencer and Toby finally arrived it was mid to late afternoon. They flew out early that very morning, so both Spencer and Toby could finish up some work while Emily and Alison were already waiting to get on their plane before it was delayed. Spencer sent Ali a text, letting her know that they wouldn't be ready to meet up until dinner time, so they might as well head to the resort instead of wait at the airport. 

Miley was like a wild puppy introduced to a new area. She was getting on Ali's nerves she tried unpacking and settling into their room, while Emily sat on the other bed while playing on her phone; that also got on her nerves. She was begging and begging to head to the beach, and jumping on the bed while Alison was rummaging through the suitcase on the bed Miley was jumping on. Alison was digging in their suitcases to find Mileys bathing suit along with the sun screen and other beach attire and accessories. Miley jumped closer to Alison, hoping to get her mother to let them go to the beach in that very moment. The suitcase shifted, and fell off the bed, just missing Alison's toes. 

"God damnit Miley!" Alison roared, throwing the beach towel down on the bed. She was so angry, Emily could see the fire in her eyes. "Sit down and wait like mama told you, or no-"

Emily jumped in to intervene as soon as the suitcase hit the floor. She put her hand on Alison's shoulder getting her to stop yelling at their daughter, but that only pointed Alison's anger on her. "And you," she laughed darkly, "you sat on your ass and didn't help me out at all! Emily, you can't sit and expect me to do everything for the three of us. You come home late and go right to bed, and leave me clean the house and get her," she motioned to Miley, who was standing on the bed completely still like a deer caught in headlights, "to bed. I've about had it with this shit Emily! You need to step up."

Emily didn't bite. She didn't react at all. She reached for Miley's hand, pulling her off the bed. "I'll take her out for a walk, and we'll be back in an hour." Emily took a room key from the nightstand table and kissed Ali's cheek before the two walked out of the room to give Ali some space to breathe. 

"Why mommy yell?" Emily knew that their daughter would be upset about it. Alison had never yelled at either of the them that way. She looked down at her precious blonde who had tears in her eyes. 

Truth be told, Emily didn't exactly know where that outburst came from. Alison had always loved how energetic their little girl was. She knew that she needed to have a talk with her wife, because she knew that there was something more to the story there. 

"I don't know pumpkin." Emily guided them to sit on the bench that was near the beginning of the beach. She could smell the water from where they sat, even though they were pretty far away. Emily propped her daughter on her lap, holding her close from behind. "Mommy is just stressed. Don't worry, she's not mad at you." She pinched her little cheek, getting the girl to smile.

"Super mama." The young girl turned to face her mama as best as she could. "You fix mommy. Can you. You can," she had her hands on Emily's face, her little fingers digging into Emily's soft, caramel cheeks. Emily could tell she was shaken from the events that just had transpired. 

"Don't worry, mama will fix it." She kissed her daughter's forehead and tried to take Miley's attention off of the topic by talking about the numerous birds that were flying in the air. They headed back to the hotel when Toby had texted her that he and Spencer had gotten to the hotel and were ready to head out for dinner. Emily got an idea while they were walking home, "how about we get mommy something to cheer her up?"

Emily opened the hotel room door, nudging her daughter in first. Miley ran straight into the room, jumping into the bed with Alison, who laid next to her mommy. "I sorry mommy. Me and mama we gots..we help you. We have present." Emily walked around the corner with a purple cone flower in one hand and a pint of ice cream in the other. Alison's heart melted at the sight.

Emily sat the gifts down on the dresser that the television sat on. She laid in bed on the other side of Alison, resting her arm gently over both her wife and daughter. "My girls." Emily whispered, nuzzling into her wife's neck as she ran her fingers through Miley's thin blonde locks. 

"I'm sorry I yelled at you." Alison apologized, squeezing her daughter closer to her side. "Mommy's not mad at you."

They laid in silence for the next ten minutes, before Emily's phone buzzed in her pocket. It actually made her jump, she was about thirty seconds away from passing out. "Toby's wondering where we are." Her voice was think, raspy. 

"Go get dressed." Ali gently pushed Miley towards the end of the bed, letting her pick out her own outfit from what Alison already packed for their "dress up" days. 

Once Miley had waddled into the bathroom with a turquoise dress, Ali rolled into Emily. "You're always so cute when you are sleepy."

"Cute hey? I think I'm too old for cute." Emily scrunched her nose, smiling as she stretched to wake herself up. 

"Never." Alison gave her a quick kiss, before she pushed Emily to get dressed as well. They were all pretty sluggish making their way to the lobby of the hotel to meet their best friends. A couple passing the little trio family made a comment on how cute their child was. That often happened to Emily and Alison. Their little baby was cute as hell. 

They decided on eating at a steakhouse, per Toby and Emily's request. Spencer and Alison didn't really care what they ate. Alison just worried about having a few solid menu options for her daughter to choose from. The fancy restaurant had some fish sticks, something that not only Miley loved, but also Emily, so she knew Miley would love it.

Miley wanted to watch the sunset on the beach, so of course they obliged. They just finished dinner in time to watch the sun dip below the water. Spencer and Alison watched as Toby, Emily, and Miley play with a volleyball they found on the beach. Both admired how well their partner handled a child. 

Alison could see Spencer watching them play from the corner of her eye. "So," Alison started, not able to take her eyes away from the three playing in the white sand, "how's everything been going." Spencer had found out three years ago that she was infertile and could not bear a child. She and Toby were devastated and didn't really explore their other options yet. Alison knew that Spencer just needed some time to process what she'd been told. She knew no matter what, they both wanted a child together, no matter the circumstances.

"We sent in some adoption papers about three months ago. Haven't heard anything yet." She shrugged and tilted her head. "They said it could take some time, so we're just trying to be as positive as we can right now. Toby's been really good about it." She wiped the corner of her eye quickly. "Really supportive of it all, you know." Spencer finally looked at Alison, the tears that threatened to fall were visible. "He's so strong for me."

"It's what the good ones do. She was fighting cancer and she was still my crutch." Ali wrapped her arm around her best friend, "things are going to turn around. You guys will be amazing, amazing parents. You two would give your heart and soul for my kids, that's what great parents do."

Spencer nodded her head, taking in Ali's words. "Kids? You two plan on more than that crazy kid?" Spencer laughed. Miley reminded her a lot of Ali as a child.

"Well.." Ali smiled, and looked out towards her family. 

Spencer knew her best friend well enough to know her exact thoughts. "Awe, congratulations." She squeezed her best friend's arm. "Does she know yet?" 

"No." The blonde laughed. When Ali told Emily she was pregnant with Miley, her reaction was nothing short of what she expected. "She would've been painting another room already." She knew Emily didn't miss spending her time painting as a job, but she could tell Emily really missed the hobby. She went ballistic painting Miley's room and finished it in about a day, and painted just about everything she could find that needed a touch up around the house.

"She'll be so excited."

"You know," Ali turned her attention back to Spencer, "my kids will be just as attached to you guys as much as they're attached to their grandparents. You've already taken Miley plenty of times, just so Em and I could go see her parents, or go out to dinner. You're just as much apart of her real blood family."

The sat and watched the sky change color. Toby came to sit in the sand next to the to girls. He was out of breath and seeking some water. Spencer had spilled the news before Toby could even plant himself in the sand. Just as Spencer felt earlier, he felt a pang in his chest, but he was so happy for his friends. Spencer and Alison walked to the two girls still playing with the ball. Spencer took Miley back with her so her mommies could have a quick talk.

Emily watched as Spencer took their girl, and was met by the softest blue eyes she'd ever seen. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Emily laughed, reaching for her wife's hand, locking their hands together. 

"You make me soft." Her voice was laced with emotion and she could've sworn she saw Ali's eyes get glossy. 

Emily tugged on her hand and nodded her head down the shore of the beach. It was a peaceful walk. Emily loved the feeling of the wet, saturated sand that sat right before the water. They passed by couples doing the same as they were, teens hanging out with their friends, college kids enjoying a beer on the beach, and games of beach volleyball going on. 

"I never apologized to you." Ali kept her voice low as they turned to go back towards their area on the beach. 

"You don't need too." Emily gave her a quarter smile before she put her head down and watched the waves rush over her toes as they walked. "You're right. I'm not very...active..at home. You're right, I need to do more than just the weekend. We're a team, and you've been pulling the weight."

"Hey." Ali stopped them from walking any further. She dropped Emily's hand to move in front of the brunette to cup her face. When she pulled her head up, she saw the tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't." She rubbed her thumbs in small circles on Emily's soft cheeks. "Don't think you don't do anything for us. You're always doing something for us. Cooking, entertaining, fixing things, building things, painting things...that's only the physical things..things you can measure."

"You deserve everything." Emily whispered. 

Without missing a beat, Ali replied, "you've given me so much more than that."

Emily nodded. Leaning into Alison's hand for support. Once Emily calmed down, they sat in the sand. The sun had gone down for the night. Spencer had texted letting Ali know that Miley had gotten tired and they took her back to their hotel room to rest. The beach had cleared out for the most part. It was peaceful; bliss.

"I have a present for you too." Alison felt butterflies in her stomach. She had the same exact feeling the first time. 

"Oh, do you?" Emily replied her voice full of suggestion, her hands finding bare skin on her hips.

"I'm pregnant." She whispered, the smile on her face wide as the Grand Canyon. 

Emily's eyes went wide, but she didn't say anything. She took a moment, and barely chocked out, "what?"

"I'm pregnant."

Emily's face instantly turned into a face of pure joy. She quickly wrapped her arms around Ali's neck, whispering "oh my god" just about every second. She could feel Emily shaking while they were embraced in their hug. She pulled back to kiss her just as many times as she said "oh my god."

Alison finally pulled back, and was absolutely delighted to see the amount of joy on her face. She tried to speak, but she couldn't get any words out.

"Em." She took her wife's shaking hands, trying to calm her. 

"I'm so happy." She took a long deep breath, "oh my god. I'm so happy Als." She stood up and started pacing in short little spurts in front of Ali. It made the blonde smile. "Oh, Ali can I call my parents?"

"Of course." Ali chuckled. She felt the exact same way. She called her mother up as soon as she found out. 

Emily felt for her phone in her pockets, but had no luck. Miley took it to play games while she was with Spencer and Toby. Alison was already holding her phone out to her extremely excited wife. 

Pam answered the phone. She sounded so nervous. Emily wasn't calling from her own phone, and Ali typically only called Pam's cellphone when something was wrong; Ali usually called the house phone. Pam's nervous only worsened when Emily greeted her mother with a shaky, "mom."

"What's wrong honey?" The only thing Pam could hear was her heartbeat. Every second that passed made her stomach churn even more. "Are you all okay?" Pam asked, not being able to take the suspense. 

"Mom...Ali's pregnant." Pam screamed. She screamed so loud. Ali laughed, and Emily smiled. 

Emily and Alison talked to Em's parents for about a half hour. Pam would immediately call Jessica. Of course they'd have to talk baby once again. They were all so excited. Alison was over the moon happy, and Emily couldn't even describe the feeling inside her chest. She was so happy, it just felt like she wanted to cry all the time. 

It started to cool off, so the two decided to call it a night.

"You still owe me a date you know." She brought Ali's hand to her lips. She loved showing affection to her girl. It was something she'd always craved. "For me being right about Miley." Emily smirked. 

"Double or nothing?" Alison smiled, knowing Emily would never turn down an opportunity at a game. 

"This ones a boy." Emily whispered. 

"Good, I wanted girl on this bet." Alison smiled, her teeth shining back at Emily. "Deal?" 

Emily leaned in, and whispered, "deal," and placed a gentle kiss upon Alison's perfect lips. 

Neither would ever get tired of living this life together.


End file.
